FASHION LAW: BEYOND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

Fashion law is an interdisciplinary specialized aspect of legal practise. It is a broader concept and horizon which starts from weaving of cloth in a tailor shop to selling and retailing in the big spacious mall. It blends intellectual property protection, corporate business, labour law, taxation and finance, thus involve multiple laws like corporate, taxation, IP laws, consumer protection laws etc. It is widely known as Apparel laws. In India there has always been a ample amount of culture since ancient times and with more information and knowledge and awareness it gained recognition in regards of textile, handicrafts and design that are generally protected by intellectual property law. India is a big producer of large number of cottons, jute and other textile it is required to be protected with large increase in demand and supply of synthetic clothing and hegemonic influence of western clothing.

India’s fashion industry has increased in multifield which contribute to large scale in the country’s economy and GDP. India’s apparel market is transforming remarkably, characterised by vibrant growth and evolving consumer preferences. The fashion sector plays a vital role in the cultural identity and social fabric of India. The has been a striking balance with people regarding cultural identity and modern fashion trends. The Indian apparel market is growing strongly, reaching at a value of US$ 102.8 billion in 2022. Moreover, e-commerce has changed the way Indians buy their clothes; traditional and contemporary fashion are more accessible than ever. There are influence of luxury brand and social media in the growth of fashion industry; by growing middle class with disposable income, this shift has expanded the consumer base and fostered a competitive environment, compelling brands to innovate continuously.  Digitization of fashion did not help the production but changed the outlook and operation of business. The adoption of digital tools fosters a more connected and collaborative textiles ecosystem. Designers, suppliers, and manufacturers can work seamlessly across borders in shared virtual environments. This not only accelerates innovation but also democratizes access to creativity, The value will see a further increase at US$ 146.3 billion by 2032 by recording a compound annual growth rate of 4.0% throughout the start of the period in 2024 up to 2032 as expected by manufactures. With the growing demands, luxury brand help understand environmental aspect of production, distribution and making of clothing.  

Generally, in India fashion law is linked to Intellectual property rights and are also protected by them. Because fashion industry includes designing, manufacturing, and dealing with new and unique designs for clothes, accessories, or jewellery. Thus, IPR plays a significant role in the fashion industry. In India, intellectual property rights are comprised of the Copyright Act 1957, the Design Act 2000, and the Geographical Indications Act 1999 and apparently govern the apparel and design industry. Fashion Law is no longer limited to intellectual property; it now encompasses consumer protection, labour rights, sustainability, contracts, taxation, data privacy and international trade. India currently regulates these issues through scattered legislation rather than a unified legal framework. It is multi-disciplinary as it protects creativity and innovation under copyright act 1947, it also protects design under design act 2000.  And protections are also given under trademark act 1999 and patent act. With rising globalization and digital world, fashion also include rights of both parties and aggrieved parties. Consumer protection act introduced against increasing unfair practice and growing business online. As fashion generate lots of employment, employer is protected under labour law also helps the understand unregulated industry standard and large-scale child labour. Environmental law is also bridges the gap with help of sustainable fashion. They become environmentally conscious. But in India there is no specific law for all this unlike in France, Italy and USA and have a developed it in different academic field. European union have a strict rule regarding the same by treat fashion as an art rather than a utility good. It provides protection to unregistered and registered designs, human and environment protection by supply chain directives and tax regulations. USA fashion law regulates protection of trademark and copyrights and rights of worker and model. It tends to be market driven and utilitarian focus. There are several international protections like Paris convention, world intellectual protection organisation etc.

The present legal framework in India is governed by intellectual property including copyright act 1957, which generally helps, to protect the unique design, patterns, shapes, colours, combinations, and more. India has the Copyright Act of 1957 which allows designers to protect their works of fashion by registering themselves under copyright laws. Designers successful in gaining copyrights have then the legal authority to duplicate, distribute, and earn from their works. But Clothing itself often receives limited copyright protection because of its functional nature. Under Desing act 2000, Designs must be original, unheard of before filing, different from pre-existing designs, and devoid of scandalous or offensive content to qualify for registration. Design of piracy section 22 of the act also protected under it to deploy fraudulent and obvious imitations. Under the trademark act 1999 it helps build brand’s visibility and credibility among the customers. It aims to give name, logo, brand, labels etc. for example ZARA, LOUIS VITTON etc.  Both registered and unregistered trademarks are protected from infringement in India. As per the Trademark Act of 1999, no other company can copy another brand’s symbol, logo, and term. If found guilty, they are punishable under law. Under Patent act 1970, protection is provided to new ideas, smart textile and technology and innovation etc. This are all comes under IPR laws in India.

As a fast-growing industry several other laws play a pivotal role in providing safety and security to them like consumer protection act 2019, Frameworks protect buyers against malpractices, such as fake products, misleading advertisements, and false sustainability/eco-friendly claims, online frauds. Help the individual understand the product before buying it, by strict rules and regulations adhering to the standard of transparency and accountability among the seller and buyers. It has made its name in online platforms and recognised quiet largely by E commerce areas. Fashion industry is also labour intensive. There are several contractual obligations between employer and employee. There are several people employed among all gender whether be it men, women and children they suffer great deal of problems in working conditions, so it’s the duty of the government to provide minimum wage, working standard condition to disregarded long working hour, no pay or less pay etc. under industrial relation code 2020. With increase in production supply and distribution of fashion product it directly impacts the environment and result in large amount of waste and industrial management and sustainability. As during production usage of colours dye and chemicals result in pollution of air and water which should be managed by Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981. Two pieces of legislation that establish guidelines for the fashion industry are the Ozone Depletion Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules of 2000 and the Indian Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules of 1989.  Thus, one can say great deal of protection is provided to fashion and textile industry. India regulates fashion through multiple laws instead of one dedicated statute.

India is way behind in fashion industry due to several shortcomings like  Legislation overlaps: The fashion industry is affected by complex overlapping of laws like copyright act and design act provide different protection for same subject. The Copyright Act protects ‘Artistic works’ whereas the Designs Act defines a design.  The major overlap involved section15(2) of copyright which forfeit the provision of registration of design act, provides a gap in protection in which fashion goods lack copyright and design registration, and designers lack any enforceable rights throughout the commercial life of the product. This is rechallenged and interpreted under Delhi H.C judgment Microfibres Inc v Girdhar & Co4 and Ritika Pvt Ltd v Biba Apparels. Fast fashion results in inadequacy of structural design. This generally take when registration under section 11 of the act take long time which effects the seasonal nature of fast fashion lasting 1 to 2 months with micro seasonal changes. They are built for typical textile industry. This timing issue is used by fast fashion reproducers, who copy the designs within days of their debut on the red-carpet or at the runway debuts. Fast fashions are time consuming expensive and they are easily copied by large and renowned designers. It becomes tiresome and difficult for small and emerging designer to fight for their rights in courts with nothing to back them up. Relevance of Geographical indication in the India’s traditional productions. Most of the high-end fashion clothing is infused with ancestral knowledge. Designers seek inspiration from our traditional inheritance. They have been vulnerable to imitation, misappropriation, and other unlawful exploitation. GI has been effective in protecting certain textile crafts but there is a dire need to educate the Indian Craft communities to indulge in innovation, adaptation, and quality assurance to fight competitiveness in the global fashion market. Strong law enforcement for malpractices must be established to preserve genuine skills and to prevent unfair competition/stealing. Another challenge will result in the dilemma between creativity and sustainability. Fast fashion is the root cause of unsustainability and feeble intellectual protection in the fashion industry.

Compared to western culture and more focused litigation and awareness about the issue, I believe we can learn a thing or two. In USA copyright protection is majorly followed, he case of Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.38 which was based on the Copyrightability of a design was a landmark case which impacted the United States Fashion design industry considerably and brought up the concept of ‘separability’ as a prerequisite for garments and other useful items to be protected under the US Copyright law. With changing time, they introduced patent protection though long is effective very much. They also excel in academic of the law taking broad meaning into the subject.

In Europe, they provide luxury brand protection upheld in Paris convention. EU regulation no longer impacts only legal departments. It directly affects product design and material choices, sourcing and supplier selection sustainability strategy and ESG reporting marketing, communication and pricing digital platforms, data, AI and automation organisational processes and governance. This provide extensive brand protection.

I believe in India, is required to investigate the gap and bridge them according to the changing nature of the law and its impact directly or indirectly in the overall working of the country and its nature. The major urge is to study the law in more depth and bring out a forum and one law for them rather than having scatterd legislation which does more harm than any good

Fashion, as a phenomenon has undergone several changes and has grown progressively over time, and so has its relevance. As its relevance has increasingly begun to grow, the need for laws and regulations has been felt both in India as well as internationally. Despite there being no legal provisions to exclusively govern fashion, the existing legislations in India have been effective in dealing with the issues that have occurred so far. That is not to say that a legislation is completely unnecessary in this regard. Law is perpetually evolving with time and will continue to do so, with more and more regulations and provisions coming into being. Since the law is not exhaustive, there is always a scope for bringing in new legislation. As has been described above, there have been more than several instances of disputes occurring in the fashion industry in India and internationally alike. The discipline of fashion law being comprised of a diverse range of dimensions, is a part of our lives in a significant way. In conclusion, fashion laws in India are an amalgamation of a multitude of existing laws that are put into action to deal with issues related to the fashion industry.

REFERCENCE(S):

Susan Scafidi, Intellectual Property and Fashion Design, 1 Intell. Prop. & Fashion L. Rev. 45, 48–52 (2010).

World Intellectual Property Organization, Fashion and Intellectual Property,

Patents Act, No. 39 of 1970 (India).

Copyright Act, No. 14 of 1957, 13 (India).

Designs Act, No. 16 of 2000, 2(d) (India).

Ritika Pvt. Ltd. v. Biba Apparels Pct. Ltd., 2016 SCC Online Del 2274.

IRENE CALBOLI & ELEONORA ROSATI EDS., THE HANDBOOK OF FASHION LAW (Oxford Univ. Press 2019).