Page 6 - Minnesota Vol 8 No 2

Z. PETER SAWICKI AND JAMES L. YOUNG | Intellectual Property
Protecting Prada
Fashion trends may come and go, but some stay. For example, the bra, the zipper and good old blue
jeans began as trends, but are now viewed as conventional wear. From an intellectual property standpoint, were these trends ever protected? e answer to that is yes. e folks that in- vented the bra (US patent 1,115,674), the zipper (US patent 1,060,378), and blue jeans (US patent 139,121) each obtained patents. Of course, these patents are old and expired, so all who want to base new fashion designs on these conventional items can now do so.
What about today’s clients and to- day’s new fashions? e bra, the zip- per and blue jeans were invented in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, fashion design is a much bigger busi- ness than in the late 19th century and early 20th century. e investments are larger, and the markets are now more lucrative and move more rap- idly. Unfortunately, unless a design is an “invention” that quali es for patent protection, intellectual prop- erty protection becomes somewhat restrictive, particularly for items such as fashion accessories and clothing where creativity is the primary con- stituent.
In our 21st century, the internet provides a venue where fashion items can be quickly introduced into the marketplace. Brick and mortar re- tail stores aren’t needed. e internet permits sellers to sell product almost immediately, with comparatively little promotional expense. Contract manufacturers have become nimble, quickly producing and shipping new products on demand. e internet, however, is also available to copycats who can easily capitalize on some- one else’s creativity by also utilizing contract manufacturing and selling knocko s at reduced prices - right alongside the original product. High end brands such as Prada are victim- ized by copycats who sell counterfeit Prada purses to unsuspecting con- sumers, or to knowing consumers willing to settle for an inexpensive Prada imitation.
TRADEMARKS
Trademarks, which are perhaps the least likely IP protection for raw cre- ativity, provide probably the quick- est and surest form of protection in today’s internet marketplace. e reason? Social media and seller plat- forms such as Amazon rely on trade- mark registration as a least-cost and
expedient factor for deciding who owns the rights for selling a product under a certain brand.
A U.S. trademark registration takes less than 12 months to obtain in most circumstances. One of the bene ts of a U.S. registration is the determina- tion that the registrant is the owner of that trademark. So as far as social me- dia and seller platforms, a trademark that undergoes a government vetting process has the government’s bless- ing as to ownership. us, trademark registration provides the operators of social media and selling platforms a convenient certi cation as to who owns a brand.
In addition to social media and sell- ing platforms, a trademark registra- tion may be registered with U.S. Cus- toms. We wrote about this bene t in a recent article titled, “Trade, Tari s and Trademarks.”
But there is more that can be done with trademark registration than reg- istering brand names such as Prada. Logos such as the Lacoste alligator, the Nike swoosh, and the Ralph Lau- ren pony can be registered and act as an identi er and protector of each brand.
Certain aspects of a fashion item’s appearance may also identify a brand. For example, Christian Louboutin shoes have red bottoms which is rec- ognized as distinctive by the consum- ing public. is feature is the basis of a U.S. trademark registration, and there is a recent ruling by the top court of
Mr. Sawicki and Mr. James L. Young are shareholders at Westman, Champlin & Koehler. Pete and Jim both have over 30 years of experience obtaining, licensing, evaluating and enforcing patents. Each has also developed an extensive practice regarding the clear- ance, registration, licensing and enforcement of trademarks. They work closely with clients to understand their values and business plans and provide customized and ef- fective strategies for intellectual property asset procurement, growth, management and protection. To contact Z. Peter Sawicki, call (612) 330-0581 or call James L. Young at (612) 330-0495. Please email them directly at either [email protected] or [email protected].
Z. PETER SAWICKI
JAMES L. YOUNG
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA· VOL. 8 NO. 2 6