Do Australia s Ip Laws Adequately Protect Fashion

LAW3406 – Intellectual Property Law Name: Hannah Redmond-Josan Student ID: U1067123 Word Count: 3131 Question: Do Australia’s IP Laws adequately protect fashion? Introduction There is no doubt that there are laws within Australia containing provisions that may be applicable to fashion products. What is less clear, however, is how feasible and effective those provisions are in protecting fashion products in practice. The fact that the question is posed is perhaps a greater reflection of the dynamic nature of ‘fashion’, which encompasses a broad range of concepts and contributors with varying intellectual property law (â€Å"IP law†) requirements. This essay will look at the ways in which existing Australian design, copyright and†¦show more content†¦The interpretation in Nintendo Co Ltd v Centronics Systems Pty Ltd has ultimately had a significant effect on the extent to which fashion may be protected under intellectual property legislation. For instance, in fashion, ‘intellectual effort’ may extend to include manufactured or handmade garments and jewellery, patterns, sketches, prints, label/brand, photography, logos, slogans and invention. The applicability of IP law to fashion is significant as it creates enforceable rights that are intended to stimulate artistic expression and technological innovation. Through common law and statute, IP law provides some safeguards that assist individuals to obtain commercial benefit from their creative and intellectual labours. The enforceable rights help to protect designers and artists in the face of an increased number of imitations, the prevalence of which has been facilitated by the overwhelming accessibility that the internet provides to designs. The difficulty in applying IP law protections to fashion, however,