"LOOK:" Oscar Night Fashion and DPPA is Rising from the Dead
The best part of the Oscars is the fashion. While there were definitely some misses last night, and some boring entries, my favorite look was Sandra Bullock's metallic Marchesa gown. And for the record, she is one of my favorite actress ~ I am SO glad she won (Best Actress for The Blind Side in case you turned if off after the red carpet)!
On an interesting side note, Fashionista has a story this morning, listing this dress as Five Oscars Dresses ABS by Allen Schwartz is Bound to Knock-Off. This time, Schumer is being aided by Jeannie Suk, Harvard Law professor and co-author of Standford Law Review article, "The Law, Culture and Economics of Fashion," in which a new fashion copyright infringement standard is proposed. (because substantial similarity wasn't difficult enough for judges or Nimmer, see section 13.03).
Suk, and her co-author C. Scott Hemphill, propose that fashion designs will be "infringing" i.e. an illegal knock-off if they are a "close copy" or are not "substantially dissimilar."
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! And how in the world will judges figure that one out? Is a "style guide" included in the Act?
As a practicing fashion lawyer, litigator, former COO of apparel companies and the fourth generation of my family to work in fashion, law professors and politicians with no hands-on fashion industry experience should not be allowed to "fix" something that they have no practical knowledge of.
This proposed legislation will do nothing but hurt the $350 billion dollar United States Fashion Industry. Doesn't Schumer know the rule, "three strikes, and you are out?"
Stay tune for more on why the DPPA is a VERY BAD IDEA and will only harm the fashion industry.
Photo Credit: Fashionista.com
Well said! Suk has no knowledge of the inner workings of the industry...and that is reflected in the article.
Does Marchesa really need to be protected from copying by ABS? Please. No one else is going to buy it at the designer level. It is now recognized as the Sandra Bullock dress! ABS producing a similar dress does NOT impact sales for Marchesa, nor is the consumer confused when purchasing the ABS version.
I think Emily is right--ABS and Marchesa are in different markets. No one who buys Marchesa will wear ABS. And no one buying the ABS dress could afford Marchesa. I believe in protecting fashion copyrights, but keeping ABS from knocking off the Oscar dresses is overkill.
DPPA will be the last nail in the coffin for the US apparel industry. The thousands of dollars it will cost to comply with registration req's will bury nearly all of the 5,000+ designers I know. Designs will have to be registered. Sewing contractors won't take their work otherwise lest they're sued by a third party who does own the rights -unbeknownst to anyone (assuming it were even a clear cut case). Retailers won't buy products from independents either because they'll be on the hook for piracy.
The only winners will be big money CFDA elite socialite designers like DVF who've already been exposed for copying other designers. DPPA is a law a monopolist can only dream of. Consumers are hurt because big money designers this law is designed to protect, don't cut anything larger than a size 12. And costs? With fewer competitors in the marketplace, prices will skyrocket.
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