Daliah Saper to lecture about Designer Jewelry, Knock-Offs, and IP Infringement

On Tuesday, September 13, Daliah Saper will be presenting:

Designer Jewelry, Knock-Offs, and IP Infringement: Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Dress Protection and Claims

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Under copyright law, the IP owner does not need to register the work to receive protection, registration is evidence of the work’s originality. It is also necessary to sue in federal court and force the alleged infringer to demonstrate that the work is unoriginal or cannot be copyrighted. The substantially similar test puts designers on notice that their jewelry designs, even if inspired by famous designers, need to be distinguishable or infringement concerns will likely arise.

Once the federal district court in Van Cleef & Arpels Logistics, S.A. v. Landau Jewelry concluded a design was copyrightable, it evaluated whether the allegedly infringing design was substantially similar to the copyrighted design using the two-part test: are the objective details of the knock-off design substantially similar to the original designer and would an ordinary observer view the knock-off’s concept and feel as substantially similar to the original.

Further, more jewelers are selling their jewelry on online platforms, such as Etsy. Copyright protection is critical to guard against being copied in online marketplaces. Copyright registration permits designers to issue DMCA takedown notices with online platforms.

Trademark and trade dress law also may offer protection, but there are obstacles, such as functionality, which must be overcome.

Charlene A. Azema, Partner at Knobbe Martens and Daliah Saper, Principal at Saper Law Offices, will guide intellectual property counsel on intellectual property infringement related to designer and knock-off jewelry. The panel will analyze copyright, trademark, and trade dress law as applied to knock-off jewelry. The panel will address what is needed to establish a claim under each area of law and provide practical tips to avoid legal problems.

The panel will review these and other key issues:

What protection can copyright, trademark, and trade dress law provide for designer jewelry? For knock-off jewelry?
How can knock-off jewelry designers pass the substantially similar test? What obstacles do they face?
What steps should jewelry designers and their counsel take to minimize the risk of infringement?

Click here to read more and register for the Stafford video webinar with interactive Q&A!