[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE INNOVATIVE DESIGN PROTECTION AND PIRACY PREVENTION 
                                  ACT

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                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2011

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, Article I, section 8, of the 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 such an incentive was crucial to ensure that America 
would become the world's leader in innovation and creativity. 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 regimes. 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, 
a thief violates Federal law when he steals a creator's design, 
reproduces and sells that article of clothing, and attaches a fake 
label to the garment for marketing purposes.
  But it is perfectly legal for that same thief to steal the design, 
reproduce the article of clothing, and sell it, provided he does not 
attach a fake label to the finished product. This loophole allows 
pirates to cash in on the sweat equity of others and prevents designers 
in our country from reaping a fair return on their creative 
investments.
  The production lifecycle for fashion designs is very short. Once a 
design achieves popularity through a fashion show or other event, a 
designer usually has a limited number of months to produce and market 
that original design. Further complicating this short-term cycle is the 
reality that once a design is made public, pirates can immediately 
offer identical knockoffs on the Internet for distribution.
  Again, under current law, this theft is legal unless the thief 
reproduces a label or trademark. And because these knockoffs are 
usually of such poor quality, they damage the designer's reputation as 
well. Common sense dictates that we should inhibit this activity by 
protecting original fashion works.
  Our undertaking is similar to action taken by Congress in 1998 when 
we wrote Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act, which offers protection for 
vessel hull designs. The ``Innovative Design Protection and Piracy 
Prevention Act'' amends this statutory template to include protections 
for fashion designs. Because the production lifecycle for fashion 
designs is very short, this legislation similarly provides a shorter 
period of protection of 3 years that suits the industry.
  The bill enjoys support among those in the fashion and apparel 
industries. While concerns have been expressed about the scope of 
previous versions of this legislation, my office has engaged in 
discussions through the years with interested parties to ensure that 
the bill does not prohibit designs that are simply inspired by other 
designs; rather, the legislation only targets those designs that are 
``substantially identical'' to a protected design. Other provisions, 
including a ``home-sewing'' exception and a requirement that a designer 
alleging infringement plead with particularity, ensure that the bill 
does not encourage harassing or litigious behavior.
  I urge the Members of the House to support this legislation, which 
will grant to American creators similar protections that those in most 
other industrialized countries enjoy.

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