Copyright? What copyright?
What do jokes, food recipes, perfume smells and fashion all have in common?
Well, it’s true that there are all thriving at the moment but the answer is that they have no copyright protection. So, it is totally legal for anyone to buy a designer dress and rip it off exactly and then sell it under a different brand name. In fact, many designers are now actively collaborating with the “fast fashion retailers”, who take their £500 T-shirt and do the £4.99 version of it literally days later. That designer makes zero money out of the £4.99 T-shirts.
This may seem rather perverse, but the reality is that everyone ends up better off. The designer sells more of their designs, because they have the kudos of being worthy of copying, hence increasing the appeal of an original. The target market for the £500 version is very different to the £4.99 version. Lots more people get access to the design itself. The fast fashion houses don’t have to use so many designers churning out unproven designs, and the fashion industry ends up making more money in total.
This is only possible because of the desirability of brands, which of course, are protected by copyright laws.
Conclusive proof, if it were still needed, that brands make the world go round.