Ahead of London Fashion Week (10 – 16 February 2008), the world’s leading fashion houses should be doing more to protect their new collections, according to Withers & Rogers, a top ten UK firm of patent and trademark attorneys.

Every year, styles first shown on the catwalks during London Fashion Week are ripped off in a matter of weeks by high street retailers as they seek to boost sales by producing low-cost versions of the latest designer classic. Last year, Top Shop was forced to withdraw its yellow dungaree dress from sale after complaints from international fashion house, Chloe.

According to Withers & Rogers, fashion designers could be more savvy when it comes to protecting their designs. Fiona McBride, partner and trademark attorney at Withers & Rogers, said:

“We aren’t talking about market stall rip-offs here. Retailers have become very adept at producing good quality imitations of haute couture styles and turning them into high street best sellers.

“But it’s not just clothing. The accessories market is also very big now and we are starting to see more rip-offs of items like bags and shoes.”

To protect their designs, fashion houses have a number of options. According to Withers & Rogers, they should seek registered design protection for their product, prior to it being disclosed publicly.

Fiona McBride, at Withers & Rogers, offers a word of warning:

“When it comes to copy-cat designs, the speed of turnaround is remarkable and fashion houses should not leave it too late to register their work. We should expect to see the first rip-off garments on sale in UK stores before the end of February.”

5 February 2008