23.10.14
MAPPING FASHION PROMOTION: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES
TRADE MARKS
Trade marks are elements that distinguish businesses from others. Trade marks give companies individuality and USP'S. They can be anything from positioning, symbols, words, colours and shapes which are legally registered as representing a company or product. Companies can trade mark a number of things for example, Fred Perry have trade marked the position of their logo on a polo shirt so no-one else can copy them. If the trademark however isn’t registered in a different country the trademark can be registered in a different country by a different company and copied in that region. You can however legally Trade mark to same name e.g. POLO is trade marked by a variety of different companies as not only being a style of t-shirt but also cars and motorbikes. As long as the product is completely different it is legal to trade mark certain names as it will have a different meaning and audience.
There are over half a million trade marks registered worldwide. China keeps a very close eye on what happens and emerges in the UK, so trademarks are key to keeping the industry fair and unique to each brand to make sure that they aren’t ripped off. However trade marks can be expensive to register making it hard for companies to register their trade mark is every country. Trade marks last 10 years however they maybe revoked for non-use after five years.
To register a trade mark you must provide certain requirements which include;
- Capable graphical representation
- Capable of distinguishing goods/services
- Distinctive not descriptive
- Not contrary of to public policy/money
Infringement of trade marks;
- Identical mark/identical goods or services;
- Likelihood of confusion;
- Trade marks with a reputation - unfair advantage or detriment.
Passing off on trade marks;
- Reputation;
- Misrepresentation;
- Damage.
PATENTS
A patent is a national right granted by individual countries to the owner of an invention that prevents others from making, using, importing or selling the invention without his permission. Patents can protect things such as unique inventions and processes which have not yet been designed or used by any other individual. In order to get granted a patent your idea must be new and not anticipated y prior art anywhere. Patents usually last for 20 years.
COPY RIGHT
Copy rights are granted to
protect the expression of individual creative and artistic work. Copy right can
protect work such as art, sounds, music and dramatics. To qualify for copy
right there needs to be a certain amount of skill and effort. You cannot
copy right work you have copied. Having a copy righted piece means that you do
have exclusive rights however when it comes to working and being contracted
this can become very complicated.
However you can use other
peoples work for private study and non-commercial use, for example, analysing
and reviewing peoples past work in universities and schools. It is however a very
grey area and depending on the legal rights of the copyright it can become very
complicated. Infringement can also occur with a park or the whole of the copy.
Infringement of copy right;
Infringed if whole or a substantial part* of work is copied without permission.
*Qualitative not quantitative.
Rights as a copy righter;
The exclusive right to do certain acts
The right to make commercial gain from your work
The right to prevent others from copying or using without permission (infringement)
DESIGN RIGHT
Design rights protect aesthetics of designs, lines, contours, colours and shapes 2D and 3D. Design rights are also about £40 in the UK. They are relatively cheap rights to be enforced, and are commonly more used as a marketing tool.
Design rights protect aesthetics of designs, lines, contours, colours and shapes 2D and 3D. Design rights are also about £40 in the UK. They are relatively cheap rights to be enforced, and are commonly more used as a marketing tool.
MORAL RIGHTS
Moral rights include the right to be acknowledged as the creator and to object against derogatory treatment, false attribution. It cannot be assigned, it can only be waived within the industry. This lasts for the life of the creator, plus 70 years after their death to protect the piece.
Moral rights include the right to be acknowledged as the creator and to object against derogatory treatment, false attribution. It cannot be assigned, it can only be waived within the industry. This lasts for the life of the creator, plus 70 years after their death to protect the piece.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Confidential
information is information which has the right to be protected. When
creating a design, product, idea, you need to make sure that you have looked at
what is already copyrighted and a document to show your development process
which you have undertaken. Your ideas can be protected from other people so
no-one can replicate your product or process and steal your work.
22.10.14
MAPPING FASHION PROMOTION: FASHION CLUSTERING
On Monday 13th October 2014 we were set
the task of discovering specific fashion clusters around central London. The fashion walk allowed me to discover where the fashion
clusters were in London and the way in which stores were cleverly located. I
was looking at how fashion brands create a visual presence on the highstreet
and the specific shopping districts; creating an awareness of the market
level clusterings.
I started the walk off at Oxford Circus.
Just off Oxford Circus is Conduit street which is home to luxury brands such
as; Vivienne Westwood, Donna Karan, Moschino, and Sketch (which is the original show room in London
that Dior used to use; a lot of presence of the Dior company still lies there).
Off Conduit
Street I look a left onto Saville Row – the home of tailoring in London,
and where Henry Poole & Co and Norton & Sons can be found. Each and
every store looked sophisticated and well thought out. All of the shop fronts
where very minimal and effortless.
There are many
different market segments; Haute Couture all the way to Economy, which each
have their own fashion cluster in London, this is simply because brands need to
be close with their competitors at all time to incise target consumers to buy
from their stores. It was very interesting to look at the precise grouping and
classes and where each shop was placed within the market. The hierarchy of
fashion is something that is taken very seriously, and walking along Bond
Street, Mayfair, Oxford street and even Conduit Street, it is very easy to
identify the target audience for that
particular street – a very in-depth and personal shopping experience.
MAPPING FASHION PROMOTION: LE PEST C
When starting all Fashion Promotion projects it's best to use to following formula LE PEST C to collect data which will give a good overview of the MACRO market.
LEGAL
As in most industries there are a variety of laws and legal issues affect the way an industry is legally aloud to function. Brands, designers and Fashion houses all face legal restrictions and regulations they must oblige to in order to stay within the law such as property protection, copyright, trademark, labour and transactions. The fashion industry is a fast moving field. Specific styles, logos, icons, fabrics and shapes can become very popular very quickly which means demand from consumers for a certain look can increase rapidly over night. This can lead to counterfeit goods "fakes" or "knock offs" being produced in order to deliver to consumer demand. The counterfeit goods which look identical to the real thing are often a lot cheaper. With these "fakes" being produced this poses risk for designers as they're ideas are being copied however in most cases there is a way around the trademark and copyright law. To learn more about Legal issues surrounding the fashion industry read more here.
SOURCE: http://www.hg.org/fashion-law.html
As in most industries there are a variety of laws and legal issues affect the way an industry is legally aloud to function. Brands, designers and Fashion houses all face legal restrictions and regulations they must oblige to in order to stay within the law such as property protection, copyright, trademark, labour and transactions. The fashion industry is a fast moving field. Specific styles, logos, icons, fabrics and shapes can become very popular very quickly which means demand from consumers for a certain look can increase rapidly over night. This can lead to counterfeit goods "fakes" or "knock offs" being produced in order to deliver to consumer demand. The counterfeit goods which look identical to the real thing are often a lot cheaper. With these "fakes" being produced this poses risk for designers as they're ideas are being copied however in most cases there is a way around the trademark and copyright law. To learn more about Legal issues surrounding the fashion industry read more here.
SOURCE: http://www.hg.org/fashion-law.html
ETHICAL
£74.4 billion is brought into the UK economy every year. £26 billion of that is brought in by the creative industries which may sometimes tempt fashion related industries to use unethical behaviour (models, fur, advertising, sweatshops e.t.c) to engage in more profit. Fashion houses must be aware of what is ethically acceptable and what is no, to make sure they are staying within what is expected of them as a brand. It is important that brands do not push the ethical boundaries such as child labour, animal cruelty and pay rates. This behaviour can be highly damaging a Brand and can resort becoming politically incorrect and negative publicity which could ultimately result in loss of consumers which will minimise profit.
SOURCE: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/top-ten-ethical-issues-fashion-business-21866.html
POLITICAL
The fashion industry (like most industries) is made up of unions. A union is a society or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose. Unions in the fashion industry have an impact on the treatment of its employers. If the wages, medical benefits and other important political factors are worse than those in other industries then the unions will protest against fashion organisations and brands in order to fix the problem. This can cause a slow down in production, meaning a delay for retailers and stockists. Delays in garments can be highly damaging to a designer due to the fast pace of the fashion industry (especially if the organisation was placed in the economy market segment) and collections having to be ready on time for various fashion weeks and seasons.
The fashion industry (like most industries) is made up of unions. A union is a society or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose. Unions in the fashion industry have an impact on the treatment of its employers. If the wages, medical benefits and other important political factors are worse than those in other industries then the unions will protest against fashion organisations and brands in order to fix the problem. This can cause a slow down in production, meaning a delay for retailers and stockists. Delays in garments can be highly damaging to a designer due to the fast pace of the fashion industry (especially if the organisation was placed in the economy market segment) and collections having to be ready on time for various fashion weeks and seasons.
ECONOMIC
Fashion can be divided into markets which are; Haute Couture, Runway, Ready to wear and Casual/Contemporary/Mass production. Fashion retail is typically a consumer goods market. Depending on which market an consumer buys into determines the price the consumer is going to pay. For example the average wage for someone working within the UK is £26,000. Haute Couture prices start at around £20,000 which generally means someone on such wage would not buy into Haute Couture fashion pieces as they would be too pricey for their disposable budget. Price/diffusion
SOCIAL
Fashion can be divided into markets which are; Haute Couture, Runway, Ready to wear and Casual/Contemporary/Mass production. Fashion retail is typically a consumer goods market. Depending on which market an consumer buys into determines the price the consumer is going to pay. For example the average wage for someone working within the UK is £26,000. Haute Couture prices start at around £20,000 which generally means someone on such wage would not buy into Haute Couture fashion pieces as they would be too pricey for their disposable budget. Price/diffusion
SOCIAL
Social media has become a highly valuable
resource to the fashion industry. Whether this be a brand, designer or people
wishing to break into the industry. It has become a way in which brands
can connect with their target market quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.
All social media platforms such as twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
advertising has flashes of fashion running through them. For both new and
established brands, social media can highly boost the brands image. A brands
image is how the public perceives the brand. A brands image is
interpreted by it's audience whereby people can experience an emotional change,
such as, feelings, thoughts/images, beliefs and attitudes. It exists in the
minds of people made up of information and expectation of the brand. As well as
boosting a brand image via social media brand image can be shattered over
social media in seconds due to the quick exposure social media holds. For
example if a negative post was made by a person on the internet who is
very influential this could reach a lot of people instantly and
damage the reputation of the brand.
TECHNOLOGY
Technological factors in the fashion industry can concern many factors, one of them being availability of resources. The fashion industry has a very fast growing and moving business environment. Fast growths in technology can cause certain jobs (such a jobs in factories) that would have been carried out by an employee to be carried out by machines to make the process quicker an also minimise costs. With humans being replaced by machines this is cheaper for the company to run than paying an employee, this means that the employment rate in this industry can fall.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
A USP (unique selling point) is key for a brand if it wants to become successful. A brand must have a USP to gain its competitive advantage above other brands. A USP attracts more consumers to your brand as you are doing something different which no-one else is and consumers are attracted to exclusive elements. Brands can become generic without a USP, a certain way a brand is portrayed can gain it the right kind of interest and customers.
A USP (unique selling point) is key for a brand if it wants to become successful. A brand must have a USP to gain its competitive advantage above other brands. A USP attracts more consumers to your brand as you are doing something different which no-one else is and consumers are attracted to exclusive elements. Brands can become generic without a USP, a certain way a brand is portrayed can gain it the right kind of interest and customers.
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