ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on major copyright regimes and their approach to fashion: the US and the EU (represented by Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany and Poland). An insightful analysis of intellectual property rights cases along with illustrations of fashion goods and/or their elements provide a new perspective. Numerous approaches to the notion of originality in these legal systems offer conclusions on how copyright operates for this category of works. This chapter provides an overview of litigated fashion-related copyright cases that have never been discussed in the literature. Given her Polish background, this author also searched the Polish court repositories for such cases. This chapter offers a very detailed explanation of copyright protection in Poland. It also concludes that a ‘touch and feel’ approach to fashion design’s originality should apply. The author also offers her concept of the ‘seductive and craftsmanly’ quality that backs up this approach.
