I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5055 

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

design. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2006 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. COBLE, and Mr. WEXLER) 

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. PROTECTION FOR FASHION DESIGN. 

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

5 United States Code, is amended— 

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

7 following: 

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

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

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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

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

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

4 paragraphs: 

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

6 whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamen7 tation. 

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

9 except to the extent expressly limited to the design 

10 of a vessel. 

11 ‘‘(9) The term ‘apparel’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) an article of men’s, women’s, or chil13 dren’s clothing, including undergarments, outer14 wear, gloves, footwear, and headgear; 

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

16 ‘‘(C) belts; and 

17 ‘‘(D) eyeglass frames.’’. 

18 (b) DESIGNS NOT SUBJECT TO PROTECTION.—Sec19 tion 1302 of title 17, United States Code, is amended in 

20 paragraph (5)— 

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

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

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

24 and 

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


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

2 in a useful article that was made public by the de3 signer or owner in the United States or a foreign 

4 country more than 3 months before the date of the 

5 application for registration under this chapter.’’. 

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

7 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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

9 protection provided under this chapter— 

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

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

12 commencement of protection under section 1304; 

13 and 

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

15 term of 3 years beginning on the date of the com16 mencement of protection under section 1304.’’. 

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

18 United States Code, is amended— 

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

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

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

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

23 image thereof,’’ after ‘‘copied from a design pro24 tected under this chapter,’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(h) SECONDARY LIABILITY.—The doctrines of sec4 ondary infringement and secondary liability that are ap5 plied in actions under chapter 5 of this title apply to the 

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

7 is liable under either such doctrine under this chapter is 

8 subject to all the remedies provided under this chapter, 

9 including those attributable to any underlying or resulting 

10 infringement.’’. 

11 (e) APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION.—Section 1310 

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

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

14 inserting the following: 

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

16 design of a vessel hull, protection under this chapter 

17 shall be lost if application for registration of the de18 sign is not made within 2 years after the date on 

19 which the design is first made public. 

20 ‘‘(2) FASHION DESIGN.—In the case of a fash21 ion design, protection under this chapter shall be 

22 lost if application for registration of the design is 

23 not made within 3 months after the date on which 

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


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

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

3 (f) EXAMINATION OF APPLICATION AND ISSUE OR

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

5 17, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘subject 

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

7 the subject matter protected under this chapter’’. 

8 (g) RECOVERY FOR INFRINGEMENT.—Section 

9 1323(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 

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

11 ‘‘$250,000 or $5 per copy’’. 

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

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

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

15 semicolon; 

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

17 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

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

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

Æ 


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