Fashion Disputes

‘If I change five things it is not a copy’ must be one of most frequently used and inaccurate legal maxims. Some design and fashion schools actually teach this as a time of thumb but the answer to whether that is correct or not lies in the detail. If the five things you change are shape, colour, cut, materials and appearance then maybe you have probably made an difference garment. If you're tweaking a few elements then you may well still be infringing the rights in the earlier garment. To make matters more complicated, with a registered design or trade mark, there does not even need to be copying.

Fashion law is a complex area of law with copyright, registered and unregistered design and trade mark law and there is a fine line between taking inspiration and unlawful copying. Our lawyers are very experienced in fashions disputes and assessing how similar is too similar. They understand the needs to sell through a line versus the cost of having to scrap it and to best outcome for these sorts of disputes. 

Our trade mark and design team can help with pre-launch clearance advice to minimise the risk of a dispute or to go into one fully prepared. Working closely with our specialist litigation lawyers, we of provide considered legal and commercial advice in relation to the prospects of success, risks avoidance and implement a successful dispute resolution strategy. Our starting point is that there is a way, we just need to find it.