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Fashion Industry Copyright Infringement Fashion Design

Troutman Pepper Locke

Shoe Dupes Walk a Fine Line After Recent IP Infringement Case

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Dupes of original branded items present significant intellectual property (IP) challenges in the fashion industry. Not all fashion products are entitled to IP protection and perceived similarities between products do not...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

German Birkenstock Decision Shows the Limits of Copyright Protection for Functional Designs

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“Aber ist es Kunst?” - That question—“But is it art?”—was before the German Bundesgerichtshof (“BGH”), or Federal Court of Justice, in a recent proceeding involving the well-known Birkenstock sandal design. ...more

Kaufman & Canoles

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - April 2024 #3

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A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned the West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, finding that it violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based...more

Clark Hill PLC

When is a Garment Design Copyrightable?

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Can you copyright that new shoe or hoody design that you believe will change the fashion world forever? Likely yes, but it’s complicated. Clothing and apparel have always been deemed “useful articles” because, by their very...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Case to Watch: Whose Idea Is 'Ballin?' - Kattison Avenue | Issue 8 - Spring 2022

Apropos of points made in “Do Not Pass ‘Go,’” a graphic designer filed an idea theft suit against Nike, Inc. in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. In the March 31 suit, the graphic designer claims Nike...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

SCOTUS to Decide 17 U.S.C. § 411 Referral Questions

In 2016, Unicolors, Inc., sued H&M for selling clothing that infringed a Unicolor design. The group registration that Unicolors relied on included designs that had not been published as of the publication date set forth on...more

Foster Garvey PC

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Why the risks of holding the Tokyo Summer Olympic Game remain high, and how PGA Tour golfer...

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Strange as it may be, with vast majority of the world still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are on the eve of the opening ceremony for the “2020” Tokyo Summer Olympics. Olympic games in “normal” times are logistical...more

K&L Gates LLP

Fashion Law Update - May 2021 Edition

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In this edition of Fashion Law, we have a huge selection of articles from around the world. As many countries ease into a new way of living with/post COVID-19, the way we do business has changed. Some businesses managed...more

White & Case LLP

Federal Circuit Alters Landscape for Design Patent Litigation

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White & Case Technology Newsflash - Intellectual property litigants may be increasingly addressing design patents. Design patent litigation may be getting lengthier, and this may result in the filing of more design patent...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

The Top 5 Most Fashionable Intellectual Property Disputes To Walk This Year’s Runways at New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) officially kicks off today, February 7, 2020, with a week’s worth of captivating runway shows from top designers. The timing, however, could not be worse, since the 92nd Academy Awards is airing...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

The Katten Kattwalk | Issue 19

The Katten Kattwalk discusses legal issues in the fashion industry affecting the trademarks, patents and copyrights associated with companies, brands and products. ...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Star Athletica and the Expansion of Useful Article Protection: Copyright Office Permits Registration of Automotive Floor Liner

The Supreme Court’s decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands established a new and simplified test for determining whether useful articles can obtain copyright protection. Many have wondered, in the year since it was...more

Knobbe Martens

Anything Your Heart Designs: Swarovski Hit with Copyright Infringement of Galatea’s “Two In One Heart” Design

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On December 4, 2017 Galatea Jewelry (“Galatea” or “Plaintiff”) filed a copyright infringement suit in the District Court for the Central District of California against the well-known crystal jewelry producer and retailer...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Textile Design Similarity In The Eye Of The Beholder (The Jury): H&M Found Liable For Copyright Infringement

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On December 7, a federal jury in Los Angeles awarded $846,720 in damages to Unicolors, Inc. in its suit against H&M Hennes & Mauritz, LP for copyright infringement of a textile design. Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Fashion Design Copyright Infringement Victory - BB&K Partner Henry Welles Wins Fashion Industry Clothing IP Case

A fashion clothing industry copyright infringement appeal was won by Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Henry Welles, who represented Natural Fashions, Inc., which does business as Anu. The case was originally brought in federal...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Practice Tips for Copyright Owners in the Wake of Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

After considering almost a year’s worth of substantive briefing (including fifteen separate amicus briefs), oral argument, at least ten distinct tests employed in courts throughout the country, as well as numerous novel tests...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

You’ve Gotta Keep ‘Em Separated

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The US Supreme Court’s ruling in Star Athletica v Varsity Brands provides a path to copyrightability for pictorial or graphical elements of clothing designs and useful articles. Laura Ganoza and Julie McGinnis of Foley &...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Give Me an E: Cheerleading Uniform Designs Eligible for Copyright Protection

In a 6–2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court of the United States provided guidance as to whether aesthetic designs of a cheerleading uniform, such as stripes, chevrons, zigzags and color blocks, are...more

Knobbe Martens

How Does the Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling on Incontinence Products Spill Over into Fashion?

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On March 21, 2017 the Supreme Court issued a monumental holding removing the availability of laches as a defense in a claim for damages under patent infringement. The case changes decades of legal precedent, and adopts...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Supreme Court Announces Broad Separability Test in Applying Copyright Law to Useful Articles

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This article continues the discussion in an earlier article addressing the scope of copyright protection as it applies to useful goods under copyright law. At the time the first article was written, Varsity Brands, Inc. v....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Separating Art from Function: Supreme Court Creates Copyright Test for Designs

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In a landmark 6-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved "widespread disagreement" among lower courts and held that the artistic elements in a functional article ­– such as the cheerleading uniform at issue in this case –...more

Proskauer - New England IP Blog

Cheerleader Uniform Designs Protectable Under Copyright Act

The Supreme Court recently held in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., that the designs on certain cheerleader uniforms may be protected copyrights. The 6-2 decision clarified the test to be applied when...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Supreme Court Establishes Test for Copyrightability of Two-Dimensional Designs Incorporated Into Useful Articles in Star Athletica...

On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court established a test for determining whether a design that is incorporated into a useful article is entitled to copyright protection. In its much-awaited opinion in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v....more

Goodwin

Supreme Court Broadens Copyright Eligibility For Design Elements, Including Artwork On Clothing

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Summary - In Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U.S. ___ (2017), the Supreme Court clarified the test for whether artistic features of a useful article are separable and therefore copyright eligible. The...more

Knobbe Martens

U.S. Supreme Court Says That Lines, Chevrons, and Colorful Shapes on Cheerleader Uniforms Are Copyrightable

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, issued their opinion on Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands. The Court affirmed the 6th Circuit, holding that the lines, chevrons, and colorful shapes of Varsity’s...more

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