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A Long Voyage from the Runway to the Beltway

By Erin S. Hennessy and Nancy Kim

The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act (“IDPPA” or S. 3728) was introduced in the Senate on Aug. 5, 2010 by Sen. Charles Schumer. The bill proposes to extend copyright protection to unique fashion designs by amending Chapter 13 of U.S. Code Title 17 (the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act of 1998).

Although clothing has generally been denied copyright protection as such items are considered “useful articles” and therefore not copyrightable per Section 101 of the Copyright Act, Chapter 13 extends copyright protection to certain “original design[s] of a useful article which makes the article attractive or distinctive in appearance to the purchasing or using public” (emphasis added). However, Chapter 13 currently limits the useful articles subject to protection under its terms to a “vessel hull, deck, or combination of a hull and deck, including a plug or mold.” Under the IDPPA, copyright protections afforded under Chapter 13 to “useful articles” would be extended to apparel, and more specifically, to unique fashion designs.

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