Title: The law, culture, and economics of fashion
First published: 2009
Description: "Fashion is one of the world's most important creative industries. As the most immediate  visible marker of self-presentation, fashion creates vocabularies for self-expression that  relate individuals to society. Despite being the core of fashion and legally protected in  Europe, fashion design lacks protection against copying under U.S. intellectual property  law. This Article frames the debate over whether to provide protection to fashion design  within a reflection on the cultural dynamics of innovation as a social practice. The desire  to be in fashion - most visibly manifested in the practice of dress - captures a significant  aspect of social life, characterized by both the pull of continuity with others and the push  of innovation toward the new. We explain what is at stake economically and culturally in  providing legal protection for original designs, and why a protection against close copies  only is the proper way to proceed. We offer a model of fashion consumption and  production that emphasizes the complementary roles of individual differentiation and  shared participation in trends. Our analysis reveals that the current legal regime, which  protects trademarks but not fashion designs from copying, distorts innovation in fashion  away from this expressive aspect and toward status and luxury aspects. The dynamics of  fashion lend insight into dynamics of innovation more broadly, in areas where  consumption is also expressive. We emphasize that the line between close copying and  remixing represents an often underappreciated but promising direction for intellectual  property today"--John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business web site.
Subjects: Fashion, Economic aspects
LC classification: K487.E3