Susan Scafidi, academic director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law, was quoted in the Daily Mail regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, which determined that designs on cheerleader uniforms can be protected by copyright law.
The judges explored the lines between aesthetics and function, looking at the role of camouflage on military fatigues, for instance, and skirt designs that are meant to make the wearer look thinner.
Six months later they have concluded that a feature designed into a useful article — in this case a cheerleader uniform — has intellectual property right protection if the feature “can be perceived as a two- or three-dimensional work of art separate from the useful article.”
It drew diametrically opposed reactions.
“This case is a huge victory for the fashion industry, which has relied on protection for fabric prints and other surface designs for the last-half century and can continue to do so,” said Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University, who advised Varsity in this legal battle.
