Fashion and Congress Do a Little Turn on the Legislative Catwalk

Piracy in fashion is nothing new, we've blogged about it many times before:

• The Law and Copycats
• Crocs Chomps on Lawsuit Victory Against Counterfeiters
• True Religion Wins Default Judgment in Counterfeit Suit
• Is C. Wonder a Tory Burch Rip-Off?

It is no shock to hear when a new lawsuit is filed over blatant infringement.  The most recently discussed would be Converse's (owned by Nike) complaints against 31 companies (including Skechers, Wal-Mart, Ed Hardy, Ralph Lauren, and K-Mart) for trademark infringement.  Articles discussing the details of the lawsuit can be found here, here, here and here.  Dockets as well as copies of the complaints can be accessed on Bloomberg Law by UW law students (if you'd like to learn how, stop by the Reference Office or ask us here and a reference librarian can show you!).

Photo Credit: www.converse.com

Piracy in fashion is so last season but the lack of any real legal protection provided to fashion designers (and consumers who are unaware that they are purchasing counterfeits) keeps the piracy trend alive and thriving.  The recently proposed Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act has some hoping that protection for fashion designers (and consumers) may be imminent.  See a recent student note, Eyes off the Runway: How to Prevent Piracy in Fashion in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review Online for an in-depth discussion of the IDPPPA.

While we wait for legislators to recognize fashion's need for protection, perhaps counterfeiters and copycats should heed the sage words of the late, great Oscar De La Renta:

Style is more about being yourself.

Rest in peace Oscar.

Track what our legislators are up to with Capitol Words!

If you've been frustrated by Congress' lack of productivity, you might be interested in tracking the legislature's activity with Capitol Words. Capitol Words is a project launched by the Sunlight Foundation; the project "indexes and tokenizes the Congressional Record" allowing users to see which issues lawmakers address daily, weekly, monthly and yearly as well as the most popular words spoken by lawmakers on the House and Senate floor.

The Capitol Words start page

The utility of Capitol Words is wondrous! Let's say you read this recent CNN article on the child custody rights of rapists, and were shocked that in "31 states, rapists do enjoy the rights of a father." You might wonder how frequently or infrequently each party in the legislature has discussed rapists in the Congressional Record:

Open States: legislative information from all 50 states

Have you ever found yourself in a state of frantic, trying to compile legislative information from multiple states?  Rather than hopping from one state's web site to the next, trying to learn how each one is arranged, you can save your precious time by visiting one site that compiles legislative information from all 50 states.  Open States.org is easy to use and it's free. 

You can enter an address or choose a state to research upcoming legislation and bills or information about your state’s legislators and committees.  Check out the site for yourself at openstates.org or watch the video for more information.  

 

 

Judge Killed, Congresswoman Critically Injured

As Representative Gabrielle Giffords met with constituents at a Tucson grocery store this morning, a shooter opened fire, taking the lives of 6 and injuring 18 others, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was critically injured. Federal Judge John Roll was killed.

President Obama has denounced the attack, offering "the full resources of the federal government" to investigate the cause of this tragedy.