Legal Commentary

I arrived at Paris De Gualle airport on Thursday, a bit tired as I walked through customs after collecting my luggage.  I couldn't help notice a prominently placed sign warning visitors that importing a fake watch or handbag could subject the carrier to up to three years in jail or a 300,000 euro fine.  An example of a similar sign can be found here. Details (in English) are available from the French Embassy here.  Apparently, a few other European Union countries have similar laws aimed at penalizing the owner of counterfeit goods, although not as harsh as these.

I couldn't help but be struck by the cultural and legal differences between the U.S. and France.  In the U.S., trademark law protects items from copying if the logo or trade dress has been appropriated, but U.S. copyright law rarely protects fashion items. Recently, the U.S. Congress has created a Fashion Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Diane E. Watson (D., Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D., N.Y.) to re-examine whether U.S. should pass legislation to protect fashion design.  The former bill had proposed short-term (3 year) protection for particular types of fashion designs, and had been subject to heavy criticism.  Unlike the French law, the proposed U.S. legislation was aimed at copyists and those who create secondary liability, rather than those who purchase counterfeit goods.

For those interested in more information about the former bill, Susan Scafidii, head of Fordham's newly created Fashion Law Institute, has a good summary at her blog Counterfiet Chic here.