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Brit Knock-Off Retailer Warns Others Not to Infringe its Copyright
In a rather hypocritical fashion, British retailer Topshop has warned other labels not to infringe the copyright protection it obtained for a new line designed by model and oft-named "best dressed" celebrity Kate Moss (see story here). Topshop has made its living by copying the runway looks of higher-level designers (for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's similar to H&M or Zara).
If you're interested, you can see the clothing that's so worthy of a copyright is here: http://www.katemosstopshop.com/.
Now, look: I follow fashion and, somewhat embarrassingly, celebrity gossip, and I don't see one original idea in this collection. As the NY Post points out: it's all stuff she's worn before. How can this possibly meet the originality standard of copyright law?! This clothing line merely goes where Helmut Lang, Azzedine Alaia, Coco Chanel, and many, many other designers have gone before.
t's difficult to imagine any court enforcing such a copyright, but I'd love to see the battle over, say, a white tank top with buttons on it. I'd especially enjoy it if Topshop tried to go after one of the original designers that Kate ripped off!
Posted by at April 21, 2007 9:05 PM
in Current Events
