Under-Regulated or Under-Enforced: Intellectual Property, the Fashion Industry and Fake Goods

摘要

It is the object of this article to examine the worldwide problem of counterfeit luxury fashion goods and consequently their effect on the intellectual property rights of the fashion industry as a whole. It will assess whether current European intellectual property protection is adequate for the problems faced by the industry and consumers of fashion apparel or whether the methods of protection available need better utilisation by fashion companies in order to protect their investment and deter infringement. It will focus on the protection afforded by the brand trade mark as a distinguisher of origin and quality and the protection of industrial designs, by both registered and unregistered design rights and the common law remedy of passing off.