Fashion law

Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law), business law, licensing, textiles, merchandising, and sometimes customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

A fashion attorney participates in a variety of legal activities. He or she negotiates deals for his or her clients. Those clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designer just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

Fashion houses and accessory designers both face unique challenges specific to their industry. They require attorneys who understand the nature of short seasons and ever-changing product cycles, pressures surrounding counterfeit goods, and the issues of unfair competition. Valuable assets in the fashion business consist of not only intellectual property rights, but also trade arrangements, contracts, and information technology systems. A fashion attorney's career success may depend on being able to effectively protect these assets by delivering industry-specific legal advice tailored to the clients' needs.

The area of "Fashion Law" is a quickly growing specialty, and several American design and law schools have dedicated clinics and even departments to its study. Deborah McNamara teaches a Fashion Law Course at Parsons the New School For Design. Susan Scafidi teaches a similar course at Fordham Law.