Design Patent Infringement in the Fashion Industry

Design Patent Infringement in the Fashion Industry

How big is the issue?

Knock-offs have always been a major problem for designers and fashion houses alike and affect all types of fashion design — from mass-market to Haute Couture. Today, counterfeiting has had a massive impact on fashion brands.

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According to the World Customs Organization, copied goods have cost the fashion industry almost 400,000 job losses and over $5 billion in revenue over the last two decades.


Fashion design patent infringement case study: Lululemon vs. Under Armour

On July 7th, 2017, Lululemon Athletica, a sports and leisurewear company, filed a patent infringement suit against Under Armour.

Lululemon alleged that three of Under Armour’s sports bras had infringed upon Lululemon's design patents. In Particular, Lululemon declared that the interwoven bra strap design of the Under Armour sports bras in question was highly similar to the designs that were already protected by patents that Lululemon filed back in 2014 and 2016.

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The sports bras of Lululemon (right) and Under Armour (left) - Photo credit: www.fashionnetwork.com

According to the filing, Lululemon sought injunctive relief to stop Under Armour from further infringing on the design patents, damages, or disgorgement of Under Armour’s profits from its infringing activities, prejudgment interest, and costs, and attorneys’ fees.

“[A]n ordinary observer will perceive the overall appearance of the designs of the infringing products to be substantially the same as the overall appearance of the designs of the patent-in-suit.”


A statement from the filing


“Under Armour as a leading brand in the sports performance market takes the intellectual property rights of others very seriously.”


Under Armour’s response to the claims


In November 2017, Lululemon agreed to drop the suit. The exact details of that agreement were never published; however, both companies agreed to have the case dismissed with prejudice —  which means neither company can bring this dispute back to court.

Lululemon’s design patents are its strongest asset. Lululemon has amassed design patents on various athletic apparel items. The company appears to be using the protection to deflect rivals by threatening and proceeding with patent litigation.


Common problems fashion designers face

Staying ahead of the game

The word of fashion design moves at a fast pace and staying up-to-date with the latest designs and design patent applications can be difficult while juggling day-to-day tasks. Monitoring current and future fashion design trends is important, not only from a market comprehension viewpoint but also to ensure that any new fashion designs have not already been patented.

Client servicing issues

Clients can change their minds, their direction, and their objectives, and this can often happen mid-project. The designer must be prepared and equipped to deal with this in order to instill confidence in their clients by being adaptable.

Checking for design uniqueness

A design patent search is a process that typically involves searching through databases of existing design patents to determine whether or not a design has already been patented. Many fashion designers face the same problems when searching.

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InQuartik conducted a global survey to find out more about the major pains that fashion designers face when trying to establish whether or not they’re at risk of design patent infringement.

According to the global survey, the most common issues faced are:

  • Not knowing where to search or what to look for.
  • Too many images to look through manually.
  • Searching takes too much time.
  • Similar images are difficult to find.
  • Information online might not be accurate or up-to-date.
  • Searching through industry magazines or paper documents isn’t reliable.
  • Can’t find or access worldwide design patent information.
  • Reverse image search is not accurate due to the different angles used in design drawings.


How can fashion designers check to see if their design is unique?

A preventative and proactive approach needs to be taken; instead of spending a lot of time and effort dealing with the aftermath and complications of potential design patent infringement, it is much more prudent to ensure that, as a fashion designer or fashion house, you do not launch products that pose any risk of infringing in the first place. 

As we already know, the old-fashioned approaches to searching just aren’t efficient or effective, it is pretty much impossible to search through a colossal amount of designs—be it traditional paper documents or by using multiple online databases—to see if a new design is unique.

With AI-powered image recognition technology at your fingertips, it is now possible to view relevant similar images within seconds—can you imagine how long that would take a human being?

Conventional design patent search is inefficient at best, total chaos at worst: generic keywords, ambiguous search results, the wrong search scope, sifting through endless pages of documents, relying on industry magazines, and trade shows. So, what is the easiest and quickest way for a designer to check to see if their design is unique?

The answer is Design Search by Patentcloud! Reduce the risk of design patent infringement in just three steps!

Check out the video below to see how easy it is to perform a design patent search!


Design Search’s database includes the world’s major patent offices: USPTO, JPO, EUIPO, and CNIPA. On top of that, our AI double-checks the legal status and current assignee data to make sure that what’s on your screen is always up to date and accurate.

Want to experience the power of Design Search for yourself? Take advantage of a 7-day, no obligation free trial today!

Got any questions? Need a demo? Drop a comment below and we'll get in touch!


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