패스트 패션 (Fast Fashion)에 대한 법률적인 고찰

Since the late 2000's, "Fast Fashion" brands, such as Zara, Uniqulo & H&M, are now dominating the fashion industry not only domestically but also worldwide level. Design piracy is, however, inevitable with the characteristics of fast fashion and is “the increasingly prevalent practice of enterprises that seek to profit from the invention of others by producing copies of original designs under a different label.” The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has been lobbying Congress since 2006 in order to receive protection for fashion designs. A number of versions of legislations such as the 2006's Design Piracy Prohibition Act (DPPA), 2011's the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act (IDPPPA) and most recently 2012‘s Innovative Design Protection Act (IDPA) has been deployed, but still no result have been achieved yet. A reasonable person would find US Congress' refusal to extend copyright protection to fashion designs to be antiquated, especially in light of the AWCPA, the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act, and society's recognition of fashion design as an art form. The pending legislation in favor of copyright protection for fashion design has finally been revised into a form that has removed the controversial provisions and is a practical and reasonable form of protection for fashion design. I believe that should this legislation pass, fast-fashion retailers should use the marketing strategy of designer collaborations as a way to continue to use original designs without infringing. The strategy of designer collaborations is an increasingly popular model that can and should be capitalized on by fast-fashion retailers under the new legislation should it pass. However, currently H&M and Target are the main users of this model and many other stores could benefit from it as well. This strategy benefits retailers by drawing in new customers; it benefits designers by allowing them to profit from new designs; it benefits con-sumers by allowing them to purchase designer brands at affordable prices; and it benefits society by creating an incentive for new creativity which will eventually fall into the public domain.