I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2033 

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide protection for fashion 

design. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2007 

Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, 

and Mrs. BONO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide protection 

for fashion design. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Design Piracy Prohibi5 tion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION FOR FASHION DESIGN. 

7 (a) DESIGNS PROTECTED.—Section 1301 of title 17, 

8 United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) FASHION DESIGN.—A fashion design is 

2 subject to protection under this chapter.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or an 

5 article of apparel,’’ after ‘‘plug or mold,’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(7) A ‘fashion design’ is the appearance as a 

9 whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamen10 tation. 

11 ‘‘(8) The term ‘design’ includes fashion design, 

12 except to the extent expressly limited to the design 

13 of a vessel. 

14 ‘‘(9) The term ‘apparel’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) an article of men’s, women’s, or chil16 dren’s clothing, including undergarments, outer17 wear, gloves, footwear, and headgear; 

18 ‘‘(B) handbags, purses, and tote bags; 

19 ‘‘(C) belts; and 

20 ‘‘(D) eyeglass frames.’’. 

21 (b) DESIGNS NOT SUBJECT TO PROTECTION.—Sec22 tion 1302 of title 17, United States Code, is amended in 

23 paragraph (5)— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5)(A) in 

25 the case of a design of a vessel hull,’’; 


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1 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

2 and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of a fashion design, embodied 

5 in a useful article that was made public by the de6 signer or owner in the United States or a foreign 

7 country more than 3 months before the date of the 

8 application for registration under this chapter.’’. 

9 (c) TERM OF PROTECTION.—Section 1305(a) of title 

10 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

12 protection provided under this chapter— 

13 ‘‘(1) for a design of a vessel hull shall continue 

14 for a term of 10 years beginning on the date of the 

15 commencement of protection under section 1304; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) for a fashion design shall continue for a 

18 term of 3 years beginning on the date of the com19 mencement of protection under section 1304.’’. 

20 (d) INFRINGEMENT.—Section 1309 of title 17, 

21 United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘that a design 

23 was protected’’ and inserting ‘‘or reasonable grounds 

24 to know that protection for the design is claimed’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘or from an 

2 image thereof,’’ after ‘‘copied from a design pro3 tected under this chapter,’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(h) SECONDARY LIABILITY.—The doctrines of sec7 ondary infringement and secondary liability that are ap8 plied in actions under chapter 5 of this title apply to the 

9 same extent to actions under this chapter. Any person who 

10 is liable under either such doctrine under this chapter is 

11 subject to all the remedies provided under this chapter, 

12 including those attributable to any underlying or resulting 

13 infringement.’’. 

14 (e) APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION.—Section 1310 

15 of title 17, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking the text and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) VESSEL HULL DESIGN.—In the case of a 

19 design of a vessel hull, protection under this chapter 

20 shall be lost if application for registration of the de21 sign is not made within 2 years after the date on 

22 which the design is first made public. 

23 ‘‘(2) FASHION DESIGN.—In the case of a fash24 ion design, protection under this chapter shall be 

25 lost if application for registration of the design is 


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1 not made within 3 months after the date on which 

2 the design is first made public.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘for sale’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘for individual or public sale’’. 

5 (f) EXAMINATION OF APPLICATION AND ISSUE OR

6 REFUSAL OF REGISTRATION.—Section 1313(a) of title 

7 17, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘subject 

8 to protection under this chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘within 

9 the subject matter protected under this chapter’’. 

10 (g) RECOVERY FOR INFRINGEMENT.—Section 

11 1323(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘$50,000 or $1 per copy’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$250,000 or $5 per copy’’. 

14 (h) OTHER RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED.—Section 1330 

15 of title 17, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

17 semicolon; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and 

19 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) any rights that may exist under provisions 

22 of this title other than this chapter.’’. 

Æ 


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