Intelektual Prop Presents: A Fashionable Game Theory: Fast to Fashion

Intelektual Prop Presents: A Fashionable Game Theory: Fast to Fashion: I recently read yet another article discussing the “fast fashion” boom within the world and how fast fashion companies have double their g...

Intelektual Prop Presents: A Fashionable Game Theory: Uniqlo: Unique, Cheap and Thoughtful

Intelektual Prop Presents: A Fashionable Game Theory: Uniqlo: Unique, Cheap and Thoughtful: My first ever and only Uniqlo shirt was sent to me as a gift about a year ago from one of my closet friends who is currently living and t...

Uniqlo: Unique, Cheap and Thoughtful

My first ever and only Uniqlo shirt was sent to me as a gift about a year ago from one of my closet friends who is currently living and teaching English to Japanese children. The shirt was a large Yellow crew neck t-shirt that had a The Freedom Rider printed on it. Even though I appreciated the gift but it took me a year before I even wore it. I had never heard of Uniqlo nor had I seen any storefronts at the time (There are only three stores in the U.S. all in New York). When I finally revisited the T-shirt I realized that I had a Uniqlo shirt in my possession this whole time.  My friend knew my taste well before I did apparently. In the past year have come to favor this brand that I can hardly get my hands unless I ask my friend in Japan to send me more gifts or I can shop through their online store, although I prefer a gift. When I finally decided to wear the shirt, took the tags off and fell in like with this brand even more. There were two tags one with the color, sku number, UPC and size. The other tag was a Blue Note Records folded informational leaflet. The shirt in my possession was paying homage to a selection of Blue Note Records best designs. In this case, The Freedom Rider is the title of a Jazz Album composed of artist Art Blakely & The Jazz Messengers, an influential Jazz group. At that point, Uniqlo made me a fan. Although they are a fast fashion company they slow down just enough to pay homage a to jazz band.  I found that to be an admirable quality in clothing company.

Fast to Fashion

I recently read yet another article discussing the “fast fashion” boom within the world and how fast fashion companies have double their global footprint.  However, this Reuters’ article written by consumer retail reporter Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Analysis: Retailers play catch-up in fashion speed race, goes more in depth on the tactics and strategies of the fast fashion company. 

Methods of retail fashion distributions are changing amidst fast fashion competitors.  Traditional fashion retailers now have to play catch up to Europe and Japanese based retailers that are either cheaper, trendier or both.  Essentially, companies such as the Gap Inc., American Eagle Outfitters and Macy's Inc. now have to place smaller orders in more factories in order to have a quick turnaround in order to get new designs and colors to the cheap, picky, young shopper faster.

The Golan v. Holder Decision

Decided to listen to Gordon P. Firemark, Esq.’s Entertainment Law Podcast Update in order to beef up on my intellectual and legal knowledge. During the podcast one case truly stood out.  Although the entertainment podcast was riddled with juicy and informative legal talk dealing with music licensing, video game combat helicopters, Velvet Underground vs Andy Warhol's Banana and copyright protection. However, it was the discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Golan v. Holder and the precedence it sets for future copyright cases that raised my eyebrows. So I took it upon myself to brush up on this case.

Am I being infringed upon?

If you have not read my previous blog post then you may not know that I have a certain kind of disdain for trademark infringers, counterfeiters and bootleggers who purposefully copy and exploit another company’s brand without visually applying some kind of satiric artful meaning behind their brand, a la Andy Warhol style.

Learning the elements of trademark infringement and copyright laws is ever so important and given my own dreams and aspirations in fashion, entertainment and law it behooves me to stay current on the rules and regulations that could hurt my brand by creating a legal liability.  

Ever since the Lanham Act and Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 trademark infringement has been a useful weapon in the fight against counterfeiters, counterfeiting channels and those who choose to infringe upon or dilute another company's brand. There have been a few seminal cases within the fashion industry in recent months that may affect my future endeavors. Three examples of current trademark infringement court cases within the apparel industry is the Navajo Nation, The et al v. Urban Outfitters, Inc. et al, Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., and Christian Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent America.

Young Artists: French Montana, Says Lawyer Up!

         As an artist in this day and technical age it is important that you have some sort of leverage in order to protect your brand and pockets from record companies. Too many young artists are taken advantage of financially because they failed to read the contract that is presented in front of them; they are too anxious to be signed.  Artists feel that this is a once in a lifetime deal, whether it is signing with that record company or manager who claim they can make them a star overnight.  Next thing you know the record company or even your manager owns everything you create.  This is why I appreciate the business minded the artist who recognizes their self-worth or who has enough patience, foresight and intuition to secure a deal that is beneficial to him or her.