[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E472-E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE DESIGN PIRACY PROHIBITION ACT

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                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Design Piracy 
Prohibition Act.
  Article I section 8 of our Constitution lays the framework for our 
Nation's copyright laws. It grants Congress the power to award 
inventors and creators, for limited amounts of time, exclusive rights 
to their inventions and works. The Founding Fathers realized that this 
type of incentive was crucial to ensure that America would become the 
world's leader in innovation and creativity. This truth is still 
applicable today. We must be sure to continue to reward our innovators 
with the exclusive rights to their works for limited periods of time. 
This incentive is still necessary to maintain America's position as the 
world leader in innovation.
  Most industrialized nations provide legal protection for fashion 
designs. However, in the United States--the world's leader in 
innovation and creativity--fashion designs are not protected by 
traditional intellectual property protections. Copyrights are not 
granted to apparel because articles of clothing, which are both 
creative and functional, are considered ``useful articles,'' as opposed 
to works of art. Design patents are intended to protect ornamental 
designs, but clothing rarely meets the criteria of patentability. 
Trademarks only protect brand names and logos, not the clothing itself, 
and the Supreme Court has refused to extend trade dress protection to 
apparel designs.
  Thus, if a thief steals a creator's design, reproduces and sells that 
article of clothing, and attaches a fake label to the garment to market 
it, he would be violating Federal law. However under current law it is 
perfectly legal for that same thief to steal that same design, 
reproduce and sell the article of clothing if he does not attach a fake 
label to it. This loophole allows pirates to cash in on others' efforts 
and prevents designers in our country from reaping a fair return on 
their creative investments.
  Furthermore, the production life cycle for fashion designs is very 
short. Once a particular design gains popularity through a fashion show 
or other event, a designer usually has only a limited number of months 
to effectively produce and market that original design. Further 
complicating this short-term cycle is the fact that once a design is 
made public, pirates can now virtually immediately offer an identical 
knock-off piece on the Internet for distribution. Again, under current 
law this theft is legal unless the thief also reproduces a label or 
trademark. Because these knock-offs are of such poor quality, these 
reproductions not only take away designer's profits, but also damage 
the designer's reputation.
  Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act offers protection for the designs of 
vessel hulls. The Design Piracy Prohibition Act protects designers

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by amending Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act to also include protections 
for fashion designs. Because the production life cycle for fashion 
designs is very short, this legislation similarly provides a tailored 
period of protection that suits the industry--3 years. This legislation 
further establishes damages for infringing a fashion design at the 
greater of $250,000 or $5 per copy.
  As America's fashion design industry continues to grow, America's 
designers deserve and need the type of legal protections that are 
already available in other countries. The Design Piracy Prohibition Act 
establishes these protections, and I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation.

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