In this paper, Lisa J Hedrick, argues against a copyright for fashion designs. Before laying down her stance, she spells out all the facts and then goes onto to articulate her own opinion. She uses a brilliant quote from the blockbuster movie The Devil Wears Prada, to begin her paper.  

The fashion industry thrives on glitz, glamour, not to mention change. The shelf life of a product or a design in this lucrative industry is only a few months at the most, making the turnaround  time very fast. Hedrick argues against copyright saying that the cost of litigation would be so high it would be irrational to protect something with such a short shelf life.  

Hedrick begins her paper by explaining the current state of intellectual property law and its failure to protect fashion. The ambiguity of the definitions of the words ‘fashion design’, ‘design’ and ‘apparel’ in The Design Piracy Bills is a major concern and can be projected as being seen as a major reason why fashion won’t actually be copyrighted in a proper manner, if the bills are passed. The many restrictions that will indirectly be put in place by these  bills might eventually cripple the industry. Designers will have to think twice before creating something and to ensure that their goods will be protected by these bills. Hedrick brings up an interesting issue of “conceptual separability” that already exists within current copyright law. It is the only concept under which fashion designs are provided with a minimal amount of protection. But even so, there are numerous tests that the designs have to pass, as Hedrick points out, for them to be protected. For instance a certain item of design or piece of clothing needs to pass the test of whether the button is original or not even the most minor alterations to an item of clothing. 

Hedrick talks of the proposed Fashion design protection under the Bills and later compares current Fashion protection in different parts of the world. European fashion copyright protection with its concept of  the Community design system, would be the closest thing that could be compared with what American fashion protection is aiming for. However the differences in the legal processes between the two demographics make it hard to compare the situation.  

This paper is very essential as a source: not only does Hedrick argue the same point as I do, but she also goes to great lengths to fully explain the legal situation. Her meticulous and thorough method of approaching the issue fully inform the reader of the current scenario. She has also explained this well and even points to a direction where fashion copyright might work. Her sound argument makes for a crucial source.