The Red Carpet Goes All Protected
There may soon be another thing that people can create that is protected by copyright - fashion. A bill pending in Congress would add fashion design to the list of copyrightable items. The proposed bill currently defines fashion like this:
. . .
`(7) A `fashion design’ is the appearance as a whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamentation.
. . .
`(9) The term `apparel’ means–
`(A) an article of men’s, women’s, or children’s clothing, including undergarments, outerwear, gloves, footwear, and headgear;
`(B) handbags, purses, and tote bags;
`(C) belts; and
`(D) eyeglass frames.’.
Passage of this bill is by no means a slam dunk, but there is considerable support for it’s passage. So now my wonderment is whether photographing celebrities on the red carpet will be considered news photography, or whether releases from the fashion designers will be required before the pictures can be published? Okay, so maybe red carpet photos fall into the news category, but what about the pure paparazzi shots of celebs on the street and in the local eatery? If the shots are for entertainment and commercial purposes only (do people really read the tabloids for news?), then maybe celebs will have a whole new strategy for cutting back on the frenzy of paparrazi.
Here’s the scenario: Suppose a celeb sticks to wearing copyrighted, designer duds everytime they leave the house. Now, since the celeb doesn’t own the copyright on the clothing, they can’t assert an infringement claim for unauthorized photos. However, the celeb could strike a deal with a designer or two, where the designer agrees to go after unauthorized photographs of the celeb in their copyrighted clothes, in exchange for the celeb agreeing to wear the designer’s creations at red carpet events. Photos like the one in this post might become a thing of the past.
Hmmm. . . . .
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