Media Monday: Senate to Review Fashion Copyright Bill IDPA S. 3523

Dear Fashionistas,

Heads up, the Innovative Design Protection Act, aka the “fashion copyright” bill, is back according to Susan Scafidi’s blog Counterfeit Chic.  I wrote about the former iteration of this bill in 2010, then known as the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act (IDPPPA, S.3728).

Besides the title change, Scafidi summed up the other major changes to the bill:

“…the biggest changes…in the bill from the House version and the previous Senate version are the following:

• a provision requiring detailed written notice to alleged infringers, and
• a 21-day moratorium on commencement of an action after that notice.  And no, damages won’t accrue during those 3 weeks.”

You may also recall from my 2010 post that opponents of the bill claimed “This bill, [is] more appropriately called the Destruction of Affordable Fashion Bill.”  Well, we will have to wait and see what the Senate decides in the end.

Scafidi also nicely summed up the U.S. Court of Appeals’ (2nd Circuit) decision regarding Christian Louboutin v. YSL:

“Christian justly kept his red sole trademark, albeit with a carveout for completely monochromatic red shoes like YSL’s; the district court’s overreaching attempt to ban all single-color trademarks in fashion was tossed out like a bad impulse purchase.”

Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised to learn of the Fashion Law Insititute’s “pop-up clinics” during New York Fashion Week, providing pro bono legal services to designers and fashion professionals.  This is a wonderful way to help others, and helping people succeed is always  in style.

Fashionably Yours,

Nik