Fashion law is a unique specialty that is developing, but very few law firms specialize in this area. Fox Rothschild is one of the few full-service law firms with a fashion law practice in multiple locations in the United States. You may be able to intern at one of these fashion law firms or work with fashion clients. This discipline involves legal issues that encompass the life of a garment from the design phase to the finished brand and its protection. Stakeholders seeking such legal protection and services include designers, fashion houses, retailers, manufacturers, model agencies, retailers, and photographers/videographers. Fashion lawyers advise clients on legal issues in the fashion, textile, apparel, luxury, footwear, jewellery and cosmetics sectors. These range from licensing, merchandising, distribution and franchising agreements to intellectual property, employment and industrial relations issues. These include issues of safety, sustainability and consumer protection. Various aspects of corporate law, real estate law, tax law and business law also come into play. The fashion law, (2019) Cult Gaia did not invent the bamboo bag, but still claims exclusive rights.

[online] TFL LLC, Source: www.thefashionlaw.com/home/cult-gaia-did-not-invent-the-bamboo-bag-but-is-claiming-exclusive-rights-nonetheless, [Access: 13.10.2019]. Fashion Law Institute, (2018) Fashion Law Institute [online] Source: fashionlawinstitute.com/about, [Access: 13.10.2019]. The internet age has exacerbated many of the legal issues faced by fashion designers and companies, fueling the need for fashion-specific legal advice and protection. For example, design piracy and imitation litigation have increased in recent years, leading to new laws granting legal protection to fashion designs. These topics are of particular importance to the fashion industry. You`ll also have direct access to events and networking opportunities offered by the Fashion Law Institute, a non-profit organization. Founded with the support of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, it is the world`s first center dedicated to fashion law and business – and it is based at Fordham Law. Concerns about fashion ethics, sustainability and economic development have had a significant impact on the industry, influencing both the regulatory framework and self-regulatory initiatives.

Important topics include: Fashion law is a specific area of law that deals with legal issues that affect the fashion industry. [1] Fundamental issues in fashion law include intellectual property, economics and finance, with subcategories ranging from labor and labor law to real estate, international trade and government regulation, including safety and sustainability issues, dress codes and religious dress, consumer culture, privacy and wearable technology, and civil liberties. Fashion law also includes related areas such as textile production, modeling, media, and the cosmetics and fragrance industries. [2] [3] You can pack invitations to fashion shows, but it`s not just Botox and Bolly. Being a successful fashion lawyer requires rigor and long hours Intellectual property protection has been a major legal concern in fashion since the advent of fashion brands in the 19th century. [29] It has been debated in Congress,[30] several academic articles,[31][32] and the first fashion law blog,[33][34] as well as a major exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum in New York. [35] The main topics covered are: Fordham Law School founded the world`s first Fashion Law Institute in late 2010 with support from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Diane von Furstenberg. The Institute offers J.D.

students and LL.M. the opportunity to study legal issues related to fashion. Fashion law in Europe is considered an emerging area of law. In the United States, however, fashion law can be referred to as an autonomous legal discipline. This is due to the fact that the social and economic importance of the fashion industry has grown rapidly, representing a $1.7 trillion global industry (Jimenez, Kolsun, 2016). The pioneer of fashion law is Susan Scafidi, who founded the blog “Counterfeit Chic” in 2005. Later, she also founded the Fashion Law Institute, based at Fordham Law School, which introduced the first law courses in fashion law. The institute itself is the world`s first centre dedicated to fashion law and economics.

In addition to intellectual property law, fashion law also has a solid foundation in commercial law. Fashion business law consists of several legal disciplines. Some of these areas include licensing (where the designer, the licensee, grants a licensee permission to use its intellectual property rights), competition law, human rights law (problems of labor abuse in factories), labor law and others. Bennett agrees. “We are invited to fashion shows and sometimes if the customers are generous, you can go to the staff store.” “If you just want to go to fashion shows, then this probably isn`t the job for you — most of the time, being a lawyer isn`t glamorous,” Hoy says. “Any lawyer who works in the city knows that hours can be long, which is why it`s really important to have fun with what you do, because at least the time spent doesn`t feel so bad.” As mentioned earlier, fashion law is accepted in the United States as a legal discipline in its own right. It is described as follows: “Fashion law encompasses the legal substance of style, starting with the designer`s original idea and ending with the consumer`s wardrobe” (Furi-Perry, 2013). A relevant question is whether the average consumer would pay the same amount of money for a garment from an unnamed brand as for a garment from a well-known brand.

Since the answer to this question is usually no, the conclusion is that fashion is not only the activity of selling clothing, but also the activity of selling intellectual property. The most important legal norms and regulations concerning fashion law are therefore the provisions of intellectual property law. Starting from the work of Faux (2013) on the different types of illegal reproduction of clothing as a model, we will briefly discuss the differences between the currently existing counterfeiting activities. A counterfeit item is identical to the original and therefore infringes the trademark of that product. A counterfeit item is a copy that is very similar, but identical to, the original. In this case, both the original and the copied object are legally protected. Counterfeiting a trademark can lead to confusion with an already legally protected fashion item, although we cannot immediately talk about counterfeiting or imitation. What needs to be taken into account is the risk of confusion. Another issue is which brands it deals with is the situation when products are produced by authorized sources, but are then sold in an unauthorized market. This can result in the owner`s loss of control over the brand reputation. In 2010, the world`s first academic center for fashion law, the Fashion Law Institute, opened with the support of Diane von Furstenberg and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Since then, a number of other institutions around the world have offered courses or programs in the field of fashion law.

These include the University of Milan,[9] the University of Insubria,[10] the Instituto Brasileiro de Negócios e Direito da Moda,[11] the University of Buffalo Law School,[12] and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law,[13] of New York Law School,[14] of New York University,[15] of the Fashion Law Project of Loyola Law School,[16][17] of the Moda Hukuku Enstitusu in Turkey,[18] Annual Fashion Law Week at Howard University[19] and McGill University Faculty of Law. [20] In May 2004, a group of French lawyers led by Annabelle Gauberti published a supplement entitled “Droit du luxe” in the prestigious French legal journal Revue Lamy Droit des Affaires. This supplement examined various specific legal and tax issues at play in the fashion and luxury goods industry and was the second conceptualization of the interactions between the legal sector and the fashion and luxury goods industry. As in any other industry, fashion lawyers need to be seen to mingle with clients. The main difference is that in this area, drinks and outfits can be a bit more upscale than in traditional corporate meetings. Everyone has an opinion about fashion and the work often deals with current trends. Unlike lawyers in less glamorous fields, you may find that your friends actually understand what you`re doing.

It`s not just Botox and Bolly. Yes, there are a few perks — invitations to fashion shows and occasional discounts on customers` products — but the reality for most is in the office and labor-intensive. Haute couture can be translated into German as “haute couture”. The dresses are made from exclusive quality fabrics and sewn meticulously, which takes time and results in a high price of the final products.