In this article, you will learn whether one can copyright the clothing designs or not and the process for the same.
Copyright safeguards the intellectual property of artists, which means that your design cannot be reproduced or duplicated without your permission. Clothing, on the other hand, is termed as a ‘useful article’. This means that you cannot copyright the clothes or even the design and that’s what makes it diffcult to be copyrighted. However, certain design elements of clothing, such as logos or other decorations, can be registered as a copyright. In this article, we will know how we can copyright literary work the different aspects of designs in clothing.
What Are the Different Steps Involved in the Copyrighting?
Following are the steps involved in copyrighting of clothing designs
- Check to see if your logo or decoration qualifies for a copyright. A logo or decoration is only eligible if it was designed by you and took a significant amount of time and creative thinking to create. Furthermore, ensure that your logo or decoration is unique and has not been copied by someone else
- Fill out the copyright application on the US Copyright Office’s website. You must enter your contact information as well as information about your logo that you want to get copyrighted. It is far less expensive to submit an application online rather than by mail
- Submit the sitting fee through any preferable payment method.
- Send two hard copies of your logo to the United States Copyright Office at the address on the form. This is required even if you file online.
How Do We Add Levels of Protection to Our Design?
There are methods for developing protectable elements that can be applied to clothing, shoes, and bags. One of the most common methods is to strike the brand’s logo on clothing, bags, and shoes. Another option is to make prints or artwork. Prints and artwork, on the other hand, must be original and have an artist’s distinct style in order to be protected by the copyright license law.
For instance, making a sunflower print from a Google image of a sunflower is not just enough to be considered original artwork. There must be distinguishing features in the sunflower drawing or sketch that differentiate the artist from others.
Designers can also include features on their products that serve them for the purpose of aethetics. A feature that can be defined individually from and exists independently of the product’s utilitarian purpose qualifies for copyright protection. For instance, a sculpture design on a bag handle. It can serve both as a decorative material and used as jewellery.
Can I Protect My Fashion Designs With Copyright?
There are conflicting messages about whether fashion designs qualify for copyright protection india. Some experts would say ‘no’, while others would say ‘yes’, and both are correct but its actually depends under different circumstances.
It all depends on what you mean by ‘fashion designs’. A fashion design can mean a variety of things. It could refer to sketches. It could refer to a signature colour, fabric, or other elements. Let’s have a look at the different elements of fashion and their nature of copyright
Colour
Under the fashion or clothing domain, colours are not protected by Copyright. If you want to protect a signature colour or a unique colour scheme in your fashion design, copyright is not the way to go. However, this does not imply that you have no options for safeguarding your intellectual property. In these cases, trademark protection is sometimes available.
Sketches
Original sketches of your designs are protected by copyright law if you create them. That is, no one may copy, distribute, publicly display, or otherwise use your sketch without your approval. Copyright, on the other hand, protects ideas and not the original expression of work. As a result, because the protection lies in the drawing aspect of the design rather than the fundamental idea, it does not actually prevent others from creating fashions that are similar to your sketch.
Cut
It is a known fact that Copyright does not protect the way design elements are cut and put the pieces together. In Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, the United States Supreme Court stated that copyright gives ‘no right to prohibit any person from manufacturing clothing of identical shape, cut, and dimensions’. However, this does not preclude you from exploring other options. A design patent may be able to protect your creation. A design patent, as opposed to copyright, can help stop others from producing fashions that look similar your sketch.
Designing graphics
The law of copyright safeguards designs on the surface of clothing in the same way that it protects designs on the surface of canvas or paper. In Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, the United States Supreme Court stated that ‘two-dimensional designs appearing on the surface of clothing’ including ‘combinations, positionings, and arrangements’ of shapes, colours, lines, and so on are protected by copyright.
Design of textiles
Copyright can be used to protect ‘designs imprinted in or on fabric especially if the design contains an adequate amount of creative expression.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed in detail about the copyright system and process on the clothing/fashion apparels. We have also stated how one can protect different elements of a clothing or fashion design under the copyright law and if it cannot be protected then what are the alternatives one can go ahead with in such cases. Facts and products that serve an useful purpose are not protected by copyright law.
Clothing serves a practical purpose. Clothing’s primary function is to protect our bodies. The same is true for shoes and bags. The shape of shoes – pump, sneakers, flats – and the shape of bags are not protected by copyright: https://copyright.gov.in/. The purpose of shoes is to protect our feet so we can walk around freely. That is why there are several categories made under which different design elements can be safeguarded under the performance rights in copyright law as different designs serve different purposes for one another. So, if you wish to copyright your clothing designs in India, get in touch with Vakilsearch to make the process easy and hassle-free.
Read more:
