Since the 1920's fashion has been copied in one form or another but it is not until recently that designers are taking a stand and trying to seek protection for their hard work. But what form of protection is available for their fashion design? Copyright, trademark, or patent laws? These are all methods in which parts of fashion design are protected but none of these intellecutal property laws grant protection for an entire fashion design. If laws are changed to include fashion design protection which method would provide the best protection? Also, how would this affect those who have based their career on "knockoffs"? Is there one law which provides a better form of protection or should the United States adopt laws currently used by France or the United Kingdom? Some believe that if fashion designs are protected by copyright laws then this will alleviate the uncertainty in the fashion industry of what is right and wrong. Copyright currently does not protect fashion but the proposition to change Chapter 13 Article 17 of the U.S. Code to protect fashion designs has the ability to change the fashion industry.

The emergence of trade dress article discusses the importance of protecting fashion designs by means of trademark protection.  Design piracy also known as “knocking off” is extremely prevalent in the fashion industry and as a result, actions need to be taken in order to protect those who create the original fashion designs.  Copyright laws have been the major focus for trying to protect fashion designs; however, this article explains why trademark is the best means of protection.  Copyright laws fail to protect the designers’ overall concept and most articles cannot be protected by copyright laws because they are useful articles.  Fashion needs to be protected in order to ensure the continued growth of new and innovative designs.  The fashion industry is a billion dollar industry but if there are not designers who are willing to spend their time creating new designs just to have them stolen, then the fashion industry will fail to create new designs.  Fashion is considered to be a form of artistic expression by some, if this is true, then why is it not considered to be under the same laws as artwork or architectural works which were recently added to the copyright act.  The article spends the first half discussing the failures of copyright laws in protecting fashion and it goes on to propose an alternate solution, trade dress.  Trade dress is a “hybrid of trademark and unfair competition law.”  “A product’s trade dress is the overall image used to present it to purchasers.”  Trade dress came about as a response to the Lanham Act which requires that there must be proof of secondary meaning and that the product is not similar to another product.  Two Pesos vs. Taco Cabana is presented as an example of a successful protection of trade dress which was used to protect the overall image and feel of a restaurant including the uniforms.  Trade dress may be the method to combat fashion design piracy in the future.  Until copyright laws are changed to include fashion, trade dress is the better way for designers to prove infringement.  The importance of this article to my thesis is that it goes into great detail about the importance of finding another means of protection instead of copyright law.  Instead of fashion protection through copyright, trademark might be considered to be the best form of protection, specifically trade dress.  In my paper I am trying to figure out the best method of protection for fashion designs between copyright laws and trademark laws.  This paper gives the side of trademark and through the example of Two Pesos, does a great job of explaining the distinctiveness of trade dress.  Also, trade dress is presented as the best way to protect fashion designs as a result of it being easier for designers to prove that their designs were copied illegally.