Are You an Academy Awards Fashion Criminal?

Still depressed that
“Hangover 3” wasn’t nominated for Best Picture? Don’t worry. At
least you’re not an Academy Awards fashion criminal!

On Feb. 23, 2011, Reason TV looked at the push to extend
copyright protection to the creations of fashion designers. The
policy, had it been adopted, would’ve helped successful
fashionistas like Diane von Furstenburg, who supports a three-year
monopoly on new fashions.

But the Innovative
Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act would’ve hurt
bargain-hunters, while putting young designers under constant
threat of legal action.

The original text follows:

Say you don’t have the dough to add the fashions you see at
Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony to your closet. If you buy
knockoffs instead, are you shopping smart or stealing?

Today it’s perfectly legal to copy whatever you see on the red
carpet and sell it yourself. To some, such as Diane Von
Furstenberg, this sounds a lot like theft. The former German
princess is one of the world’s most successful fashion designers
and she’s teaming up with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to push a
bill that would give designers a three-year monopoly on new
creations.

The whole point of intellectual property is to spur innovation,
and that, according to supporters, is exactly why the fashion
industry needs such a bill. Without tougher protections, they say
designers will have less incentive to create new looks.

But is the fashion industry really hurting for innovation? And
are top-tier designers like Von Furstenberg really getting ripped
off by bargain hunters? And even if they were, who’s to say whose
look is truly original?

Johanna Blakely of USC’s Norman Lear Center worries that the
relentless push for more intellectual property protection could
lead to a situation where big design houses lawyer up and sue young
designers. Designer Galina Sobolov, head designer and owner of
Single by Galina Sobolov, agrees.

“If this bill was in effect as we grew our company, we would
have faced probably millions of lawsuits,” says Sobolov, whose
designs have been worn by celebs such as Katy Perry and Rachel
Hunter. “And we would have never actually had a company.”

Approximately 6.30 minutes.