Forget the top end. There’s worse at the lower end. Visit the markets in the T-Nagars of south India or the Janpaths of the west, and it becomes too evident how classically created designs of top Indian fashion professionals are snapshot copies and sold for peanuts. That piracy and plagiarism are plaguing the growth of this industry is a given fact now. Then why aren’t designers doing something about it en masse? “IPR helps to distinguish your product, but most of the time such distinction can be easily copied by just a little bit of modification and then you can also play around with issues like colour and textures,” says one of India’s leading designers Jattinn Kochhar, who also tells 4Ps and B&M how such shrewd modifications skew the legal case. According to a DHL-Mckinsey Apparel and Textile Trade Report, the Indian designer wear market is growing at 20 per cent, but so far only 10 designers across the country have opted for IPRs.
The scope of copyright protection depends on the depth of originality of the work and on the financial capabilities of the designer. Such issues certainly create a lot of confusion for the designers. Says Sumeet Nair, MD, Fashion Foundation of India and former chairperson of Fashion Design Council of India, “There are substantial limits on the legal protections available to designers, and not many designers have such financial capabilities to hire a professional expert for the same. Such limits are very confusing also.” But the trickier issue is how to deal with the problem of ‘inspiration’. With very short periods for recouping costs, some upstart designers openly resort to inspired copying. However, surprisingly, there are a few leading designers who even believe that these copycats can actually contribute in sustaining creativity. “If somebody is copying your design, it also means that your design is popular. Rolling out of similar products also create a trend. However, with IPR, it’s only your brand loyal customer who will pick up the authentic collection from your store,” expresses Rohit Bal.
But Rohit is amongst only a handful of such thinkers. Today, fashion espionage accusations fly in all directions in India, with Indian luxury houses accusing high-street brands and designers accusing fashion houses. It required honourable minister Kapil Sibal to sort out the music royalty issue between singers and film producers. One wonders who’ll offer to help India’s fashion industry out.
The scope of copyright protection depends on the depth of originality of the work and on the financial capabilities of the designer. Such issues certainly create a lot of confusion for the designers. Says Sumeet Nair, MD, Fashion Foundation of India and former chairperson of Fashion Design Council of India, “There are substantial limits on the legal protections available to designers, and not many designers have such financial capabilities to hire a professional expert for the same. Such limits are very confusing also.” But the trickier issue is how to deal with the problem of ‘inspiration’. With very short periods for recouping costs, some upstart designers openly resort to inspired copying. However, surprisingly, there are a few leading designers who even believe that these copycats can actually contribute in sustaining creativity. “If somebody is copying your design, it also means that your design is popular. Rolling out of similar products also create a trend. However, with IPR, it’s only your brand loyal customer who will pick up the authentic collection from your store,” expresses Rohit Bal.
But Rohit is amongst only a handful of such thinkers. Today, fashion espionage accusations fly in all directions in India, with Indian luxury houses accusing high-street brands and designers accusing fashion houses. It required honourable minister Kapil Sibal to sort out the music royalty issue between singers and film producers. One wonders who’ll offer to help India’s fashion industry out.
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