Hasta La Ideas

You might recall our writing about New York senator Charles Schumer introducing a bill this summer that would offer more design-based copyright protection to fashion labels. While two years ago, a variation of the bill failed on the Senate floor, it appears that this time around might have a much rosier outcome for the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the two main design groups lobbying hard to get it passed. This week, the bill, called the Innovation Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is the first major hurdle before it heads to the Senate floor and faces a full vote sometime likely after the December recess. Here’s a bit from the AAFA’s Kurt Courtney, who spoke to Apparel News following the pass through committee:

“I think people are a lot more in agreement than they think,” he said. “This bill real­ly draws the line between inspiration and copying. We all understand the importance of inspiration in design, most of which comes from articles found in the public domain. The bill seeks to protect that original artwork in fashion, not the utilitarian parts. This is specifically targeted at the most original artistic fashion that has never been seen before.”

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