1. [3]
- http://www.ip-watch.org -
French Fashion Industry Eyes Ways To Better Use IP
Rights For Protection
Posted By Magda Voltolini On 15/12/2014 @ 3:19 pm | 1 Comment
PARIS – Fashion industry representatives and others in France are mulling ways to use the
intellectual property system more effectively to protect innovations in fashion, with the support of
the French government.
On 26 November, the French “Institut de Recherche en Propriété Intellectuelle” [1] (Paris Ile-de-
France Chamber of Commerce and Industry) held the conference “Les Propriétés Intellectuelles à
la Mode” [2] to discuss luxury and fashion intellectual property rights.
French academics, lawyers, industry and government representatives addressed specifics of IP
protection and enforcement, including the comparison of non-registered designs vis-à-vis French
copyrights. Lawyers appraised IP protection and enforcement before French courts.
In addition, industry and government delegates stressed the importance of the French fashion
and luxury industries for the country, citing estimated annual revenues of approximately 130
billion euros.
From the perspective of the French Union of
Textile Industries [4], Emmanuelle Butaud-
Stubbs, Executive Officer gave her view
concerning intelligent textiles in relation to IP
rights in the session entitled, “Quelle
protection pour les articles de mode avec
dépôt?” (What protection for products with a
title?).
Intelligent textiles are innovative fabrics
containing information and communication
technologies applied across sectors, such as
sports, health, aeronautics and food packaging.

2. From left, Alain Coblence, Paola Tarchini and
Carlotte Paoli.
For instance, Butaud-Stubbs cited the wearable
D-Shirt of Cityzen Science [5] is made of
intelligent textiles.
Butaud-Stubbs also highlighted the three objectives included in the French industrial plan [6]
concerning technical and intelligent textiles, namely:
Achieve success in the environmental transition
Explore the available opportunities of the digital revolution and nanotechnologies
Develop the textile industry of the future using new technologies, such as 3D printing
With regard to IP rights, intelligent fabrics can involve aggregate protection at an international
level: patents, models and designs, Butaud-Stubbs explained. Besides, IP management ensues
from innovative collaboration projects “sponsored by poles of competitiveness, and research
centres in France and in the EU by the Textile and Clothing Technology Platform [7].” As to future
challenges, she foresees the problem of regulating transfer of health data, medical and textile
devices and 3D printing.
In another session, “Quelle protection pour les articles de mode sans dépôt?” (What protection
for the products without a title?), Emmanuelle Hoffman, partner at Cabinet Hoffman [8], a firm
specialized in IP fashion law, analysed the right to accumulate French copyrights and
unregistered community design rights. She told Intellectual Property Watch the following:
“In France, a non-registered creation can benefit from a double protection, on the one hand by
the copyright law (Copyright being free of registration) and by the design law (Unregistered
Community Design Rights called DMCNE in French (Dessin et Modèle Communautaire Non
Enregistré), in an alternative or a cumulative way. These protections are confirmed on a judicial
level, no administrative office having jurisdiction over these questions.”
Hoffman, as a practitioner, also said:
[She] “recommend[s] the simultaneous invocation of both protections before the courts” [despite
challenges to prove ownership of copyrights and criticisms against protecting one object/ creation
under several IP rights] …. as it allows to hold the existence of several damages, thus favoring
the holders of IP rights. Another advantage, [she highlighted] is that the assessment methods
are harmonized for each category of IP rights, meaning that cumulative damages can thus be
granted on the basis of the same elements and evidences produced by the claimant.”
In the same session, Michel Friocourt, Kering Group [9] CEO advisor, narrated the difficulties to
prove French copyrights for fashion products before a French court. (Kering Group holds a
number of luxurious and fashion brands known worldwide, including Gucci, Alexander McQueen,
Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron.)

3. Friocourt stated the notion of originality in French copyright is based on a deduction as the court
decides on a case-by-case basis whether a work carries the imprint of the personality of its
author. See for instance the Cass. com., 20 March 2014, Tod’s Spa and Tod’s France c François
Pinet qnd Orphée Club, (12-15.518) [10]
Therefore, it can be unavoidably challenging to prove originality in view of outside actors in the
supply chain, he said. In practice, Friocourt infers it is almost undoable to acquire accumulation
of copyrights and non-registered designs to protect fashion products, but perhaps still possible
for jewellery and haute-couture creations. He said:
“If the current French law accepts to combine the double protection of copyright and non-
registered community designs, this accretion causes two distinct and cumulative compensations,
while at the same time, in the field of fashion, the same jurisprudence has become exceedingly
difficult to prove originality of the author’s creative effort in relation to the grant of copyright
protection. [I]t seems to me that this dual protection is excessive or unnecessary, and that the
regime of the model should be the general norm, [and] copyright, non-cumulative, the
exception.”
In the session “Quelle protection dans un monde globalisé?” (What protection in a globalized
world?) presenters tackled IP protection at a global level and online. Alain Coblence, partner at
Coblence & Associates [11] focused his presentation on comparing fashion design protection in
Europe and US since European designs are neither protected by design nor by copyrights in the
US. From the online standpoint, Charlotte Paoli, senior IP legal manager – global brand relations
at eBay declared that eBay complies with IP protection, notably with its program Verified Rights
Owner (VeRO) [12] which removes listings infringing third parties’ IP rights within two hours, and
that it cooperates with right holders.
In relation to the matter of infringement, on 3 December, French and Italian industry delegates
signed a memorandum of understanding [13] quoting six priorities that aim at protecting fashion
and textile creation at a national and European level, as follows:
Reinforcement of controls and provisions to fight against counterfeits
Make it more efficient legal decisions
Inform consumers
Adapt legal tools to the digital world
Intensify the cooperation between competent authorities in the European Union
Implement a proactive policy of defence of IP rights vis-à-vis third countries
Image Credits: Magda Voltolini [14]

4. Related Articles:
Interview: IP Enforcement In The US Fashion Industry [15]
IP Rights Get A Good Look At Fashion Law Conference [16]
French IP Industry Experts Discuss IP Portfolios, Trademarks Online [17]
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Better Use IP Rights For Protection"
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[…] PARIS – Fashion industry representatives and others in France are mulling ways to use the
intellectual property system more effectively to protect innovations in fashion, with the support of
the Fr… […]
Article printed from Intellectual Property Watch: http://www.ip-watch.org
Published in: Copyright Policy, Education/ R&D/ Innovation, Enforcement, English, Europe, IP
Policies, Language, Patents/Designs/Trade Secrets, Regional Policy, Subscribers, Themes,
Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains, Venues
URL to article: http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/12/15/french-fashion-industry-eyes-
ways-to-better-use-ip-rights-for-protection/
URLs in this post:
[1] “Institut de Recherche en Propriété Intellectuelle”: http://www.irpi.fr/
[2] “Les Propriétés Intellectuelles à la Mode”: http://www.irpi.fr/pages/?
ref_arbo=35&ref_page=603
[3] Image: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/French-
fashion-industry-event-Nov-2014.jpg
[4] French Union of Textile Industries: http://www.textile.fr/
[5] D-Shirt of Cityzen Science: http://www.cityzensciences.fr/
[6] French industrial plan: http://www.entreprises.gouv.fr/secteurs-
professionnels/plan-industriel-textiles-techniques-et-intelligents
[7] Textile and Clothing Technology Platform: http://www.textile-platform.eu/
[8] Cabinet Hoffman: http://www.cabinet-hoffman.com/
[9] Kering Group: http://www.kering.com/en/group
[10] Cass. com., 20 March 2014, Tod’s Spa and Tod’s France c François Pinet qnd Orphée Club,
(12-15.518):
https://www.courdecassation.fr/publications_26/arrets_publies_2986/premiere_cha
mbre_civile_3169/2014_5865/mars_5869/321_20_28941.html
[11] Coblence & Associates: http://www.coblence.com/English1.htm
[12] Verified Rights Owner (VeRO): http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/vero-rights-
owner.html
[13] memorandum of understanding: http://www.textile.fr/presse/communiques
[14] Magda Voltolini: http://www.ip-watch.org" target=

5. [15] Interview: IP Enforcement In The US Fashion Industry : http://www.ip-
watch.org/2015/08/31/interview-ip-enforcement-in-the-us-fashion-industry/
[16] IP Rights Get A Good Look At Fashion Law Conference : http://www.ip-
watch.org/2015/04/09/ip-rights-get-a-good-look-at-fashion-law-conference/
[17] French IP Industry Experts Discuss IP Portfolios, Trademarks Online : http://www.ip-
watch.org/2012/03/21/french-ip-industry-experts-discuss-ip-portfolios-trademarks-
online/