Unfortunately fashion isnt copyrighted so knock-offs are allowed! Just because it's allowed doesnt mean it's alright! I really hate it when I'm carring my Authentic City and someone else walks in carring a totally fake copy of my bag and says:"Hey look! We have the same bag!" I dont think so!!!!
Sorry Cleo, fashion most certainly is copyrighted. There is no special act required to have copyright protection for a design other than to put an original creative work on paper or perserve it in some tangible embodiment (such as constructing the bag itself). Surprisingly enough, non-enforcement of copyrights in the fashion world appears to be an unspoken compact among industry participants. The reasons for this tacit consent/tolerance of copyright infringement are believed to be:
1. Everyone is guilty of it. Top to bottom and back up again. Everyone copies something from somewhere. Creators want to spend their time on creating and stealing/adapting/being inspired by other's creations, not suing each other in court.
2. There is an industry understanding that copying and being inspired by each other's designs, and having designs "trickle down" and get diluted each step of the way from the couture houses down to K-Mart brands over serveral months/years, actually fuels and pushes along the fashion cycle where the top designers and "innovators" benefit also. There's only so much revenue you can milk out of a top design costing thousands of dollars. It's then knocked off for the next cheaper tier, and next cheaper tier, and so on. This way an original design from the top makes it through the market at all price points, and results in fatigue over the design, fueling the desire for the next great innovative thing to be put out and consumed at all price points.
Now, trademark infringement is an entirely different animal. While copying the style/design of a Bbag may be tolerated, slapping a "BALENCIAGA" name on it is not. That's lying and attempting to deceive customers. Only the most shady industry outsiders ever engage in this conduct. Of course there are times when a copyrighted design element becomes so iconic that it begins to acquire the characteristics of a trademark, a brand in and of itself (think of Mickey Mouse, both a copyright and a trademark). But that lecture's for a different day.
Ok. I know. Way too verbose. I just love this stuff though.
