Threading the Law: How to Protect Your Work in Fashion

July 04, 2025

Threading the Law: How to Protect Your Work in Fashion

Intellectual Property in Fashion

The fashion industry moves fast—faster than the hands that stitch, sketch, or sew. And in the midst of all this shimmer, it’s easy to forget that every design, every photo, every phrase you post has value. Legal value. Because while imitation might be flattery, in fashion, it can also be theft. And the only thing standing between your original idea and someone else’s rip-off? A little thing called intellectual property.

The industry thrives on originality. But without the right protection, your work can end up walking someone else’s runway. When we talk fashion, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is counterfeiting—but how does one actually avoid it?

Let’s walk through it.

1. Copyright

The most basic legal right every designer and every creative in the industry should know. But let’s refresh our memory anyway.

A copyright is a legal right that protects original creative works. In simpler terms:

If you create something original, you automatically own the right to it.

This includes original sketches, prints, embroidery, fashion illustrations, written content, mood boards—even silhouettes (yes, up to the 50th piece!). As long as your idea has taken a material form—be it video, audio, text, sketch, or sample—your creation is protected.

And here’s the best part: copyright is automatic in India. You don’t have to register it for protection, though registration is helpful in case of a dispute. Once granted, it protects your work during your lifetime and for 60 years after your death.

But wait—here’s the twist:

Under Section 15(2) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, if your artistic work is used in an industrial process and mass-produced, copyright protection ends after 50 reproductions.

So that sketch of your stunning dress? It’s protected—until you cross 50 stitched pieces.

2. Design Registration

What happens after the 50th piece? Is it the end of the world?

Thankfully, no.

Once your design crosses into commercial production, you enter the territory of design registration under the Designs Act, 2000.

A design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation, or composition of lines or colors applied to any article—either 2D, 3D, or both—by any process (manual, mechanical, chemical).

So your:

Silhouette
Pleating pattern or ruffle structure
Unique collar shapes
Novel saree drape or lehenga flare
Decorative surface prints

—are all protectable under this law, provided they are applied to the finished product and are visually distinctive.

What’s not a design?

Functional aspects (like zippers or pockets)
Mere ideas or concepts without visual expression
Anything already publicly known or registered

Pro tip: Design registration gives you protection for 10 years, renewable once for another 5—making it a 15-year runway shield.

3. Trademark

You’ve designed the outfit. You’ve added your brand name. Maybe even a beautiful logo. Then one day, you find someone using that exact name and logo—on low-quality fabrics that are not your aesthetic.

What then?

Here’s the fun fact: Say your brand is called “Neha Gupta Fabrics”, and you’ve been operating since 2019—but never registered the trademark. In 2025, while scrolling through Instagram, you see another page with the same name.

Will the law protect you?

Yes—but with conditions.

If you can show prior use, along with goodwill and reputation associated with your name, you’re protected under the common law remedy of passing off. You don’t need to have the trademark registered—just strong proof that you’ve been using it and built brand recognition.

However, if you do register your mark under the Trade Marks Act, it becomes a much stronger case—because then, any unauthorized use becomes a clear case of infringement, which carries stricter penalties.

Trademark protection lasts for 10 years, and can be renewed indefinitely in 10-year blocks.

Stitching It All Together

To recap:

Copyright protects your original artistic works—but only until the 50th production piece.
Design registration protects the look of your product—from the 51st piece onward.
Trademarks protect your brand identity—your name, logo, and distinctive tags—forever, if you maintain them.

In fashion, creativity is your currency. But law? That’s your lock and key.

Style may fade—but your rights shouldn’t.

Liked this article? Follow @clauseandcouture on Instagram for more legal insights at the intersection of fashion and law.

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