Copyright news and archive

Fashion AI: Cutting through the fabric of falsity

Spanish fast fashion giant Mango released its new ‘Mango Teen’ advertising campaign last month to much fanfare. At first glance, the advert – featuring a model wearing a colourful cropped top, posed against a desert backdrop – is similar to a plethora of other summer campaigns aimed at teenage girls. But upon closer scrutiny, something else...

Business

Fast fashion face off: Shein hit with lawsuit from competitor Oh Polly

Shein is, once again, facing legal troubles. This time, the Chinese fast fashion giant has been confronted with a lawsuit from a direct competitor, UK-based brand Oh Polly. The complaint, which was filed with England’s High Court, was registered on the Intellectual Property list and was issued by both Oh Polly and its sister brand Bo&Tee. This...

Background

Plagiarism in fashion: Why is there so much counterfeiting, and is it even allowed?

Trends have always traditionally been dedicated by the runway.The apparel industry looks to runway designs, haute couture as well as ready-to-wear,for inspiration. Designs are reinterpreted for a wider audience or diluted and made more accessible while being sold at ever-lower prices. Source: the article ‘Fashion: from catwalk to closet’ Some...

Business

Independent designers accuse Shein of extortion and intellectual property infringement

Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has been accused of "large-scale and systematic theft of the intellectual property of major and minor American designers" and of committing infringement-related extortion, The Fashion Law wrote. Independent designers, Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez and Jay Baron claimed Shein is responsible for violating...

Fashion

Diesel sued by L.A. artist for copyright infringement

Italian streetwear giant Diesel is being sued by a Los Angeles-based artist for a campaign it released with photographer Terry Richardson. The artist, Haleigh Nickerson, filed a copyright lawsuit alleging Diesel used one of her works for an advertisement. The complaint states: “The unauthorized image, blatantly a derivative image and...

Business

Amiri sues Zara

American brand Amiri is suing Zara for allegedly copying its Amiri MX2 jeans the former selling them under the name Combination Skinny Biker Jeans. Amiri filed its complaint in federal court in Los Angeles demanding 3 million dollars in compensation from Zara's parent company Inditex. The lawsuit Amiri filed claims that details of the jeans,...

BusinessFeatured

Versace sues Fashion Nova for copying infamous jungle dress

We all know the gown in question: the iconic green jungle print goddess dress worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammy Awards. It turned heads then, subsequently kickstarted Google search and made history once more when Versace showed it some twenty years later for its SS20 collection and nearly “broke” Instagram. Iconic clothes inspire...

BusinessFeatured

Off-White in trademark infringement dispute, again

Last April U.S. fashion label Off-White by Virgil Abloh filed a trademark infringement complaint against jewellery brand Rastaclat for using quotation marks around words and that its bracelet "was infringing several Off-White trademarks." According to the World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR), Off-White said it has extensively used quotation...

BusinessFeatured

Is the fashion industry guilty of manipulating cultural heritage for financial gain?

The women embroiderers of the remote Mexican mountain village of Tenango de Doria made worldwide headlines this week when their government went to war with an American designer for "plagiarising" their patterns. Wes Gordon, the artistic director of the New York label founded by Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera, found himself accused of...

Fashion

People Tree's Orijit Sen accuses Dior of plagiarising textile design

London - It is said that 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' but in the fashion industry there is a fine line between imitation and flat out copying someone else's design. Accusations of design plagiarism and theft are certainly nothing new in fashion, but Indian designer and graphic artist Orijit Sen, co-founder of sustainable fashion...

Fashion |OPINION Featured

Zara shrugs its shoulders when caught copying artists

When Los Angeles-based illustrator and artist Tuesday Bassen last week accused high street fashion chain Zara of copying her work, the similarities were embarrassingly obvious when she posted the images on her Instagram. Known for her quirky colourful illustrations, Zara took no qualms in copying Bassen's work and sell it commercially on a range...

Fashion |OPINION Featured

Looks familiar: Why copying in fashion remains a grey area

Fashion brands copying other brands is so commonplace in the design landscape that barely anyone bats an eyelid these days. If you peruse the rails at Zara you will be able to spot the designer references seen on the catwalks that inspired its collections, it is that blatantly obvious. One season, not long ago, it was as if Phoebe Philo from...