on law, fashion, art & design
Inspiration Or Imitation?
The District Court of Berlin recently ruled on the distinction between new separate works inspired by earlier works and the imitation of earlier works.[1] The case concerned one of the world's most famous furniture [...]
Terminating Your Model Agency Contract
The Higher Regional Court of Celle in Germany recently ruled on the question whether fashion model agency contracts are so-called “contracts of higher nature” according to German Civil Law with the consequence that the [...]
Punk + IP = ?
Fashion designer, activist and renowned maverick Vivienne Westwood is one of the stars on the fashion sky. Her shows are legendary, her designs revolutionary: she patented the platform ‘pedestal’ shoe, created punk and is a [...]
The Laws of Appropriation
It’s fairly common for fashion designers to take stylistic inspiration from a variety of sources. Cross-cultural influences are nothing new and they greatly enrich creative practices, but there’s a boundary of respect that definitely needs [...]