And then take a closer look at the spangled "CD" logo, conveniently obscured by a turned-up collar in the Met's official pictures but captured on Flickr by fabulous photographer ggnyc.  Seem familiar somehow?

Perhaps we should ask the folks at DC Comics, which used Milton Glaser's "DC" inside a circle and stars (bottom inset) as its logo from 1977-2005.  It's enough to curl Wonder Woman's hair -- assuming that the all-American Coke cans don't do the trick. 

Happy 4th of July from Counterfeit Chic!

It seems that His Holiness wishes to exorcise the persistent rumor that his red shoes are by Prada.  L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, last week categorically denied that Benedict XVI indulges in designer footwear, stating instead that the pontiff patronizes a cobbler from Novara, Italy.  Who may or may not be inspired by a light in the east -- about 50 km east, in Milan, to be exact.

Via His Superfabulousness, the Manolo.   

Heelys claims patent protection for the single wheel in the heel, manufacturing methods, and even the proper stance to take when heeling.  And it's not afraid to enforce those patents.

When it comes to others' IP rights, however, Heelys' freewheeling ways may be a bit off-balance.  In a recent complaint, the British luxury brand Burberry claims that Heelys has rolled over its trademark on the iconic Nova Check plaid.  And since one picture is worth a thousand puns, take a look at the evidence:

Might Heelys have simply gone mad for plaid and picked the wrong one?  Not likely, if the not-so-fine print on the box is any indication:

Checkmate.

No, really.  Loyal Counterfeit Chic readers may remember handbag designer Jennifer Baum Lagdameo of Ananas, who has seen her work copied by everyone from niche catalogs to mass market giants.  In fact, earlier this year she took a brief break from her booth at a trade show, only to see her Emily bag...

...duplicated by a competing vendor.  Right down to the distinctive wooden rings. 

A few quick pics later and said competitor, who may or may not have violated trade show rules, is no longer offering Ananas knockoffs -- at least not in Jennifer's immediate vicinity.

This summer Ananas is planting its pineapples just down the street from New York's counterfeit central, with a pop-up store on Canal Street between Ludlow and Orchard.  So skip the back-alley boutiques offering Prado, Gooyar, and Channel -- and yes, the occasional Ananas copy -- and check out Ananas @ fifty-two (the street address).  Remember to pick up your favorite classic handbag or new eco-chic style soon -- the harvest ends on July 15. 

In today's Wall Street Journal, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan quotes the chain's chief marketing officer calling the ad "obviously inappropriate" and adding, "We're very disappointed that our logo and brand position were used in that way."  J.C. Penney lit up the telephone lines to its ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, which in turn has blamed Epoch Films, the independent production company that submitted the ad in competition. 

If lawsuits ensue, the likely response will be that the commercial, which concludes with the legend "Today's the day to get away with it," is a parody of Penney's "Today's the day to..." campaign.  However, the widespread belief that the ad was real and its entry in a contest as such won't help the argument. 

Of course, it's also possible that the ad is genuine and that Penneys is trying to both pacify its conservative customer base and appear edgy to a younger generation.  In which case some twisted marketing mind really deserves an award. 

Via Gawker. 

Fashion design students would have no legal recourse, of course -- but is there no honor in the school's honor code?  (For a contrasting case from another creative medium, check out Shine v. Childs, 382 F.Supp.  2d. 602 (2005), in which a distinguished jury member visiting the Yale School of Architecture allegedly "borrowed" a student's design for an early version of the Freedom Tower at the WTC site, and the court refused to grant summary judgment.) 

Let's hope the professorial plagiarist at least pays with "A's." 

...at least according to the "New Meaningful Life of Famous Logos" series at Wallout.com. 

Caution:  Watch out for trademark lawyers...and their gently smiling jaws. 

The rhetoric and intent behind H.R.5889/S.2913, an amendment to copyright law currently working its way through Congress, are simple -- some believe deceptively so.  Because copyright protection lasts for a long time (currently life of the author + 70 years), it can be hard to ascertain who owns the copyright in an older work or to locate the copyright holder.  This difficulty is likely to get worse in the future, since the U.S. in 1989 moved to an opt-out rather than an opt-in system -- in other words, copyright happens automatically.  It's no longer required to register your work with the Copyright Office or print a copyright notice on it (though both are good ideas), so there's no comprehensive record of who owns what with respect to copyright.  This creates problems for a subsequent creator who might want to turn an old short story into a play, restore and reissue a pre-code film, or use an ad from a defunct company on a T-shirt. 

The Orphan Works Act, originally proposed in 2006, tries to remedy this problem by limiting penalties for a copyright infringer who makes a "diligent effort" to find a work's owner before copying it but is unable to locate that copyright owner.  So far so good, right?

Not so fast.  While many agree that the basic idea has merit, the reality is somewhat more complicated.  After almost two decades of telling creators that they don't have to do anything to receive protection, is it fair to penalize them for not showing up in the Copyright Office's searchable records?  What's a "diligent effort" to find a copyright holder?  What's "reasonable compensation" if the copyright holder turns up later?  And -- perhaps most relevant to the apparel industry -- what about the difference between the kinds of works on which it's easy to display copyright notice (a book, for example) and the kinds of works that often don't bear the author's name (like a printed textile that's been cut and sewn into a garment)? 

Graphic artists, photographers, and textile designers have been among those most concerned about the potential effects of the bill, largely because their works are among those most likely to be mistaken for "orphans" when their parents are very much alive and well, thank you.  (It's a bit reminiscent of the controversy that erupted when Madonna decided to adopt an orphan from Malawi, only to learn that his father was still around.  The difference, of course, is that the boy was actually in an orphanage, while accidental orphan works might just be hanging around in public without nametags.) 

Given this ongoing debate, it's interesting that, according to a Textile World report last week, three textile trade associations have decided to support the legislation.  Why the new enthusiasm?

While neither Textile World nor the websites of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the National Textile Association, or the Decorative Fabrics Association offer analysis of the decision, a closer look at the House version of the Orphan Works Act may provide an answer.  The following two provisions in the bill would limit its application to textile designs:

(1)  An "exclusion for fixations in or on useful articles."  The bill's limitations on liability don't apply to infringers who incorporate the copyrighted work into a useful article -- like printed fabric sewn into clothing -- and sell it to the public.  From a textile designer's perspective, this preserves the ability to enforce copyright against the Forever 21s of the world, a key strategy for fashion designers who can't protect their garments under U.S. law but can protect their prints.

(2) Visually searchable databases/effective date of legislation.  While the bill in general, if passed, would take effect on January 1, 2009, it would not apply to pictorial, graphic, and sculputural works (including textile designs) until either the Copyright Office certifies the availability of at least two visually searchable databases or January 1, 2013, whichever is earlier.  One of the concerns of textile designers is that it's harder to locate the original creator of a visual work than a verbal one.  This provision would allow a period of time to address that issue and ensure that a truly diligent effort to find the owner of a textile design could be successful. 

In other words, if these limitations remain in the final version, textile designers would be insulated from many of the legislation's immediate effects and would have little reason to oppose its passage.

Congress is rather preoccupied with elections, gas prices, a war, and so forth at the moment, but proponents of the Orphan Works Act may see this move within the textile industry as a sign that the sun will come out tomorrow.  Or at least next term. 

U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner seeks to stem this beauty drain via the passage of H.R. 4080, which calls for a new nonimmigrant classification for fashion models "of distinguished merit and ability."  The predictably controversial bill would make available 1,000 visas in a new category associated with athletes and entertainers, creating more competition for U.S. models but arguably preventing some photoshoots from disappearing overseas.

Perhaps fashion models -- or at least the individuals who manage and hire them -- are pretty smart after all.

Counterfeit Chic has reported on plenty of baked fakes and DIY knockoffs, but this is the first recipe combining the two.  In theory, the two-minute CakesMadeEasy.com video will result in your own "Designer Knock Off" purse cake.  In practice, I'm imagining wall-to-wall crumbs and icing up to my elbows.  Still, it's the stuff of sweet dreams:

Legally speaking, yes, that quilting looks familiar -- but from the perspective of several different brands.  The style of the cake, moreover, is fairly generic.  So unless you add interlocking sugar C's or manage to spell out "Marc Jacobs" with your precision piping technique, you're free to rev up that oven.  (Note to SATC fans and denizens of small apartments:  Remove sweaters first.) 

Or, for more fun with stripes, stare at a fixed point on the image below for 30 seconds and then look at a blank wall or page.  Same design, new colors?  Congratulations -- you could have a future in the Payless design department.