Copyright and Couture
Okay, so picture this: a retired Supreme Court justice and a Harvard Law professor walk into a discussion—and start talking about fashion. That’s exactly what happened recently at Harvard Law School, where Justice Stephen Breyer and Professor William Fisher took on the surprisingly complex relationship between fashion design and copyright law.
In the fashion world, copyright law doesn’t work the same way it does for music or books. And according to Breyer and Fisher, that’s actually a good thing. They argue that not giving fashion designs strong copyright protection can help designers in the long run.
Why? Fisher explained it like this: when luxury designers drop new looks, they’re aimed at a very exclusive (and wealthy) group. But when fast fashion brands start copying those styles and making them affordable for everyone, it creates a ripple effect. The OG designers stay relevant, and the hype builds for whatever they come up with next. “Not only is the absence of copyright protection not problematic,” Fisher said, “it’s actively beneficial to the innovators.”
They also brought up a big Supreme Court case: Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, which dealt with whether design elements on cheerleading uniforms could be copyrighted. The Court said that, yes, design features could be protected if they can be seen as standalone art, separate from the functional item (like the actual uniform).
Justice Breyer wasn’t totally on board with the majority opinion though. In his dissent, he name-dropped Van Gogh, Duchamp, and even a cat-shaped lamp (seriously). He basically said that while he agreed with the test the Court used, he didn’t think it should apply in a way that gives Varsity Brands copyright protection for their cheer uniform designs.
Bottom line? Fashion is all about creativity—but when it comes to legal protection, sometimes less is actually more.
What do you think: should fashion designs get more copyright protection, or would that just kill the vibe of inspiration and remixing in the industry?
Read more here: https://hls.harvard.edu/today/when-copyright-law-and-fashion-collide/
