Fashion Inc drapes IP protection to cut fakes down to size

From Parisian flea markets to Jalandhar's bazaars, the menace of counterfeit designer products is almost as old as the fashion industry itself. However, with businesses coming under the corporate umbrella and expanding over the past decade, design houses are taking a more active stand towards safeguarding their creations.

Domestic design registrations under the Design Act jumped more than three times in FY24 to 25,911 from FY20, with clothing and haberdashery driving the surge. Total applications filed climbed 34% last year, with 3,091 filings in clothing alone, a 24% rise from the previous year. Notably, Sabyasachi Calcutta LLP, which operates the luxury fashion house Sabyasachi, filed more than 1,000 design applications, the highest among categories. The company is 51% owned by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd and 49% by Kolkata-based celebrated fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

"A decade ago, very few of us gave IP protection much thought," said fashion designer Gaurav Gupta. "Today, even smaller studios are registering designs, documenting their work, and seeing protection as part of the creative process. What once felt like legal overhead now feels like caring for your brand," said Gupta, who has filed eight anti-counterfeiting cases since 2021. Gupta however pointed out that the large share of a single designer signifies that many others are still to embrace formal protection.

The government is also working on amendments.

Possible Changes in IP Laws

These amendments are aimed at making intellectual property (IP) protection easier across industries. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, through its departments, has begun stakeholder consultations to discuss possible changes to IP laws. One such consultation was held on September 26 which saw participation from several sectors including fashion.

Kaustubh Sinha, partner, Adhrit Legal, who attended on behalf of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), said the Centre is taking inputs from industries where IP is a critical asset. “Various issues were deliberated, including suggestions to reduce time-bound processes,” he said.

Currently, registering designs under the Designs Act typically takes six months to a year, he said.

Unlike industrial design, copyright protection is automatic from the moment a work is created but only if it is reproduced fewer than 50 times, a restriction that has created a lacuna for the fashion industry, he added.

The FDCI is preparing recommendations, among them a plan to cut the design registration timeline from up to a year to just a few months. “In industrial design, the process itself becomes the enemy,” said Sinha. “When a designer creates a product, they cannot afford to wait a year before launching it.”

PAST RULINGS

In August, the Delhi High Court granted an ad-interim injunction to fashion designer Rahul Mishra after parties were accused of copying motifs from his Sunderbans collection.

Earlier this year, the court ruled in favour of Louis Vuitton, restraining Delhi shop owners from selling counterfeit handbags and belts. Other designers such as Tarun Tahiliani, Anita Dongre, and Manish Malhotra have also secured injunctions in the past.

However, for many designers, the real struggle begins only after securing protection. Tracking infringements, issuing notices, and pursuing litigation is resource-heavy. Gupta underlined that the challenge lies more in enforcing the rights than registering them. He called for faster takedown mechanisms, proactive platform cooperation, and easier IP support for small creators, stressing that protection should be “accessible to all who dream.”

Lawyers agree that judicial rulings, while important, rarely solve the problem on the ground. Priyanka Khimani, an IP lawyer, said landmark judgments help build jurisprudence but “their impact at the street or supply-chain level remains limited unless backed by sustained enforcement.” Even after a designer wins in court, she noted, fakes often continue to proliferate online, in Tier 2 and 3 cities, and in unregulated markets.

Industry leaders argue that structural fixes are needed. Sunil Sethi, chairman of FDCI, said piracy and counterfeit flash sales are a growing menace and asked for a system that allows for ex-parte orders and local commissioners to act swiftly. He suggested a forum akin to consumer courts where smaller designers could resolve disputes quickly, rather than being priced out of justice.

Despite the gaps, some see positive momentum. “Recent judgments are game changers as this now allows the industry to be treated from just a craft to commercial IP assets,” said Safir Anand, senior partner at Anand and Anand. “Counterfeiters now face the risk of fast takedowns. Platforms are being put on notice. And this sends a positive signal to the global luxury industry, making foreign entities more confident about investing in Indian designs knowing their rights will remain sacrosanct.”