IIIP & WIPO to host conference on fashion & intellectual property

29 Jul '05

3 min read

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Italy's Ministry of Productive Activities and the Italian Institute for Industrial Promotion (IIIP) will host an international conference in Caserta, Italy, from November 23–24, 2005 on the importance of intellectual property to the textile and clothing industry - a sector which is heavily reliant on the development of innovative designs and original creative expressions for its success.

The conference will address how the tools of the intellectual property system – copyright, designs, trademarks, and even patents – are used by the fashion industry to promote competitiveness and drive success. Participants will come from the world of fashion, as well as from government, fashion-support industries and academia.

The conference will look at the importance of designs and their protection, which are widely perceived to be critical to the success of the fashion industry. That said, given the short product life cycle of fashion goods, designers are faced with important choices about whether registration, or simple reliance on copyright law, is the best means of protecting their interests.

While copyright protection is automatic and immediate, design protection requires the submission of a formal application to the relevant national authority of the country in which protection is sought. Design registration offers a more robust means by which to deter others from copying a design, and to fight unscrupulous competitors who do so. The decision on whether to register a design is usually made on a case by case basis.

More Textiles News - Italy...