Trademarks and The Fashion Industry: A Beginners' Brief
When you think of fashion, many instantaneously think of art, expression, glamour and luxury brands. One of the major fields of law that is pivotal to the fashion industry is Intellectual Property, specifically trademarks. There are ways of protecting the artistic and lucrative brainchildren of Karl Lagerfeld and many other creatives from mass exploitation.
What is a trademark?
The clearest way to think of a trademark is as a state granted monopoly on the use of a distinctive sign that gives consumers valuable information. The Trademark Act 1994 states a trademark is any sign which is:
capable of being represented graphically and,
capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of others.
In essence this means anything that is capable of distinguishing may be registered as long as it can be represented graphically. This can include words, logos, combinations of the two, names, shapes of goods, as well as tunes and gestures. We would all concede that Christian Louboutin has earned his rights to the red sole of everything! So, wouldn’t it be strange, if Crocs started finishing their comfortable slippers with red soles? Imagine if you asked your partner for a pair of Red Soles only to be gifted with a pair of Crocs merely because your innocent partner believed she had genuinely purchased shoes designed by Christian Louboutin. Trademark protection is therefore essential in the fashion industry both for designers and consumers.
Types of trademarks typically seen in the fashion industry
Trademarks are usually obtained for a design company’s name and logo, or a designer’s name often within a distinct logo, or indeed for a series of design products.Yes, this does mean that wearing a red-green-red striped jacket; embellished in an array of interlocking ‘C’s’ would be to the dismay of more than just the fashion police. It is safe to assume that both Gucci and Chanel will be filled with enraged Italian and French designers, looking to stop you from committing this fashion atrocity through misappropriating their designs. It is for this reason that it is advisable for design houses and specific designers to always be alert to whether their commercial and creative activities have given rise which is capable of falling under the definition of a trademark. In a highly competitive and creative industry where image and being distinct is the name of the game the trademark tool is an indispensable one.
Full protection
A trademark grants the owner a monopoly over the distinctive sign and therefore if someone uses it without your permission or is extracting commercial gain from a name or a logo which is very similar, the owner of the trademark has protection in the law and can even apply to the Court for an injunction stopping unlicensed or inappropriate use. It is therefore a very useful right within the fashion industry.
Written by Bruno Rodrigues a Solicitor at Cassadys Solicitors. If this article interested you or you have any questions please do visit cassadys.co.uk