“Fashion is made to become unfashionable.” –Coco Chanel.

<p>Ms. Chanel may have been an accidental intellectual property (IP) guru, decades ahead of her time. She unwittingly referred to an aspect of fashion that modern IP scholars claim is the crux of why they oppose more robust IP protection. Namely, that fashion is, by its nature, based on inspiration and derivation, and strict IP laws would stifle innovation.</p> <p>There are only so many ways to cover the body. Determining what is original is subjective, so, naturally, creations are borrowed or referenced from someone else&rsquo;s work. The problem is, where does inspiration become imitation? Complicating the matter further, while focus revolves around gaining and maintaining IP protection, in certain circles, IP specialists believe protection should be granted only in exceptional circumstances to reward innovation worthy of a limited monopoly in a free market.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/what-is-fashion-law/fashion-is-made-to-become-unfashionable-coco-chanel-efd71fef5b55"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>