This is an article from the Wahab & Medenica law firm's media blog which deals with issues of intellectual property. This blog entry explains the significance of emerging laws in response to the growing trend of copying fashion designs. Designers have been trying even harder these days to protect their works and as a result Congress proposes a new method. The Design Piracy Prohibition Act proposes a limited three year term for fashion designs that commences upon whichever is earlier the date of publication of registration or the date the design is first made public.  Under this act the term fashion is defined broadly to include everything from handbags to footwear. The blog goes on to explain the current status of Copyright laws in regards to fashion design.  Two cases are presented in order to challenge the issue of the functionality hurdle which designers face when trying to protect their work.  The most important case is the Kieselstein v. Accessories by Pearl in which the court granted Kieselstein the right to copyright the design of the belt buckle. Even though this is a step in the right direction for fashion protection, there are no cases which deal with the protection of garments of clothing. The United States does not protect fashion designs but France and England do and this article suggest that the United States should follow their lead. The proposed Design Piracy Prohibition Act will follow in the steps of the E.U. regulation which currently protects fashion designs in the form of registered and unregistered community designs. This new act will address the copycat culture which has grown tremendously within the fashion industry. Even though the act will protect the original designer, it will severely restrict a designer's ability to emulate the styles of others.  The importance of this article to my thesis is the proposition of an alternate method of fashion protection, The Design Piracy Prohibition Act.  Even though this act has not been passed yet, the blog explains what might happen if it is passed as well as provides background information about the act itself.