Intellectual Property Rights are essential in protecting the creative and innovative efforts within the fashion industry. Copyright law grants exclusive rights to designers for their original artworks, ensuring they can control and monetize their creations. Trademark law safeguards brand identities, helping companies distinguish their products in a competitive market. Patent law protects new inventions and technological advancements, such as innovative fabrics and production methods. Trade secret law preserves confidential information that gives businesses a competitive edge, like unique manufacturing processes and marketing strategies. GI tags protect products originating from specific geographic locations, ensuring their unique characteristics are preserved.

Copyright:
Copyright is the legal right given to an intellectual property owner. Copyright means when a person creates a product, they own the right to it. So, only that individual can have the exclusive right to reproduce that work or anyone they give authorization to. When a fashion designer comes up with an art work, he/she can get them protected legally, having them registered as copyrights. Copyright grants the original creators of the product an exclusive right to use it further or duplicate the product for a specific time. The item that has been copyrighted develops into the public domain. The Copyright Act, 1957 governs the subject of copyright law in India.

Trademark:
A trade mark is a visual symbol which may be a word to indicate the source of the goods, a signature, name, device, label, numerals, or combination of colours used, or services, or other articles of commerce to distinguish it from other similar goods or services originated from another. One cannot trademark ideas, but can trademark labels and names.

For example: Gucci, it’s a trademark of the company i.e. symbol of the company. A trade mark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it or to authorize another to use the same in return of payment. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 deals with the protection, registration and prevention of fraudulent use of trademarks in India.

Patent:
Patent law is the branch of intellectual property law that deals with new inventions. Anyone who wants to use the invention must get permission from the patent holder and may have to pay a fee. To gain an advantage over other competitors, designers tend to be creative, original and innovative in the fashion industry. For example: wrinkle-free fabrics, UV filtering textiles that are resistant to fire, water-repelling textiles Patents are used to protect a broader variety of inventions, such as coding algorithms, business practices, genetically modified organisms and more. The Patents Act, 1970 amends and consolidates the law relating to patents in India.

Trade secret:
Trade secrets are confidential information that give businesses a competitive advantage in the fashion industry. They include formulas, manufacturing processes, customer lists, marketing strategies, and more. Preserving these trade secrets helps businesses retain their competitive edge in an industry driven by innovation, creativity, and rapid adaptation. For example, Zara uses an in-house IT system to reduce production cycles to 30 days, leveraging daily store manager emails for new trends and fabrics.

Geographical Indication:
Geographical Indication (GI) tags are intellectual property protections that identify goods originating from a specific geographic location and have unique characteristics. In fashion law, GI tags protect products made in a specific geographic area with unique characteristics. For instance, the Kanchipuram Handloom Silk Saree Manufacturers Association applied for a GI tag in 2005 to protect handloom sarees made in Kanchipuram, India, from being copied and sold as “Kanchipuram sarees.” The tag ensures only sarees made in Kanchipuram using traditional weaving techniques and designs can be sold as “Kanchipuram sarees.” Another example is the Muga Silk GI tag of Assam, which ensures only Assam-produced Muga Silk can be marketed as “Muga Silk” and prevents the use of the term for products produced elsewhere. GI tags are crucial in fashion law to protect unique products and artisans, preventing counterfeit sales.