Sunday, May 23, 2010

Copyright, TM and Counterfeit Chic: Fordham Law Launches Fashion Law Institute

Prof. Susan Scafidi, author of the Counterfeit Chic blog, is launching the nation's first-ever fashion law institute at my alma mater, Fordham Law School.  The web page is sexy and politically incorrect - if not Page Six - worthy - with boldface names like Dian Von Furstenburg and no equal time for men's footwear.   Who designed those shoes?  This is all a good thing.  A female model earns 7x to 9x what a male model does - it is a reality that does not - and should not - have the world up in arms.

I have represented fashion designers, fashion photographers, model agencies, fashion models, and a company called FashionTV for years - it is a whole different world and it is good to see a legal program launched that takes a serious look at this odd world where image is everything and buccaneers abound.   For about three years of my life in a federal proceeding I wrangled over whether the mark FASHIONTV infringed on the mark FASHION TELEVISION.   After winning summary judgment on the trademark claim, I won an unfair competition trial with Skadden Arps as my adversary.   As Cindy Adams would say, only in New York.




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