Who Owns Love? Rahul Mishra, IP Law, and the Soul of Design
Who Owns Love? Rahul Mishra, IP Law, and the Soul of Design
A couture-legal commentary on embroidery, authorship, and emotion.
Image via Rahul Mishra / Pinterest
When Rahul Mishra unveiled his Autumn/Winter 2024–25 haute couture collection titled “Becoming Love” in Paris, the fashion world paused. No viral gimmicks. Just embroidered emotion, memory, and time made tangible. From his daughter's sketches to ancestral rooftops, the garments carried not just craftsmanship — but care.
Who owns love — once it’s stitched into form?
In a post-industrial fashion world obsessed with trends, “Becoming Love” slowed everything down. Couture wasn’t content. It was memory. And memory, once made tangible, must be protected.
🧵 Couture as Intellectual Property
The embroidery, sketches, and symbolism within "Becoming Love" are eligible for protection under Indian IP law. Under the Designs Act, 2000, Mishra’s original garment structures can be registered. But more importantly, the visual elements — such as digital motifs or embroidery based on personal drawings — are protectable under Copyright Act, 1957.
Because the collection isn’t mass-produced, it escapes the limitations of Section 15 — meaning copyright in the artistic elements is fully valid.
👁️ Moral Rights & The Designer’s Soul
Through Section 57, Indian law protects a designer’s moral rights — the right to be credited, and the right to object to misuse or distortion of their work.
In a collection like this, copying the look isn’t just infringement. It’s erasure. If a fast fashion brand replicates Mishra’s deeply personal embroidery or visual storytelling, it violates not just aesthetics — but authorship.
Some designs aren’t just visual. They’re visceral.
🤖 The AI Dilemma: When Style Becomes Dataset
With AI entering the design space, a haunting question arises: If a generative model scrapes Mishra’s visual language to “create” — is it flattery, or theft?
Indian law hasn’t addressed AI explicitly, but Clause & Couture stands firm: When memory becomes dataset, consent must enter the room.
🛡️ What Designers Can Do
- ✔️ Register your designs under the Designs Act
- ✔️ Copyright embroidery, sketches, and digital artworks
- ✔️ Use NDAs and contracts in all collaborations
- ✔️ Assert moral rights — always
- ✔️ Treat memory like creative currency
Clause & Couture stands with every designer who dares to create from the heart. If you believe your sketches, embroidery, or concepts have been copied — don’t stay silent. Reach out to us.
Comments
Post a Comment