Fordham Law Professor Susan Scafidi, director of Fordham Law’s Fashion Law Institute, gives her thoughts on Taylor Swift’s homemade Chiefs jacket and the National Football League’s approach to merchandising and trademark infringement.
“A DIY recycled jersey, or a gift to a friend, is outside of the reach of the law,” explains Susan Scafidi, the founder and director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School. “But once the item is offered for sale, the brands’ trademark attorneys may start gearing up for their own game days.”
This is presumably why Designs by Kristin bills its business as “Custom Reworked Clothing.” That said, Kristin was probably still an ineligible receiver of consumer cash. Under first sale doctrine, a brand can argue that consumers are likely to be confused by a transformed product and assume it came from the original brand. According to Scafidi, material difference lawsuits are fairly common. It’s no small wonder. The Chiefs alone are worth $4.3 billion.