Intellectual property protection is always complicated, but this is particularly true in the fashion world. Since U.S. copyright law does not protect fashion design as a rule, results arise that may at first seem surprising and fashion designers must turn to other legal theories to protect their creations. Our own Professor Jeannie Suk and her co-author C. Scott Hemphill explored some of the legal issues around fashion, intellectual property and innovation in their 2009 Stanford Law Review article “The Law, Culture and Economics of Fashion.
Some designers turn to trademark law, attempting to use this theory to protect design elements that are distinctive to their brand. Recently, Christian Louboutin used this theory against Yves Saint Laurent, based on the well-known (and trademarked!) red sole of Louboutin shoes.
Learn more:Jeannie Suk "Little Red (Litigious) Shoes", New York Times, January 21, 2012
Complaint and Docket, Christian Louboutin S.A. v. Yves Saint Laurent Am. Holding, Inc., No. 2011cv02381, (S.D.N.Y.)