Susan Scafidi was quoted in a Business of Fashion article about design infringement lawsuits in the fashion industry.
Across the fashion industry, many of these types of design infringement lawsuits are settled before they ever become public. “Some companies, rather than relying on their own design teams, make copying others’ most commercially successful work part of their business structures — and treat the payment of settlements when intellectual property rights are infringed as a cost of doing business,” says Susan Scafidi, professor of fashion law at Fordham Law School and founder of the Fashion Law Institute, not in reference to this specific case.
“Essentially the settlements function as post hoc licensing fees, but paid without the original designer’s prior consent and only under the threat of a lawsuit,” she says. Which party moves first to settle, however, is rarely disclosed.
