The fashion industry is full of unique legal challenges.
From managing a supply chain to creating new designs, it’s vital to get the right legal support and commercial advice.
We work closely with fashion brands, designers, distributors and others in the industry. As a specialist intellectual property law firm, we understand how to protect your:
We have supported many fashion businesses on their journey from startup to stardom. We’ve helped fashion icons protect their brand and enforced the rights of new, individual designers. Regardless of who you are and how large your business is, you can benefit from our extensive experience in the industry.
To get started, fill in a contact form to organise a consultation.
“Briffa helped us protect our intellectual property and design work when it was infringed by a major retail business.
What we particularly liked about working with Briffa was their expectation management. We understood at every stage of the process what outcome we could realistically expect. Having gone through a similar process in the past with another legal firm, I can say from experience that this isn’t always the case.”
– Mark Hampshire
Your brand is your identity, a sign of quality and usually a major driving force behind a consumer purchase. Trade marks protect aspects of your brand identity, like names, logos and taglines.
We advise on a brand protection strategy for fashion businesses. If required, we’ll help you register trade marks and combat infringement.
Agreements are key tools in holding your other parties to account and protecting yourself and your rights.
Whether it’s freelancer, manufacturing, or distribution agreements, we offer fixed fees to draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts and documents.
The cost of legal action often prohibits rights owners from being able to enforce their rights. This is especially so for smaller fashion brands, like individual designers and startups.
Ask us about our DesignProtect insurance, which gives you a fighting fund to pursue infringers and protect your designs.
Are your designs styles, shapes, surface decorations and patterns properly protected? Registering designs can help fashion brands to combat infringement and copying whilst maximising their commercial value.
Briffa advises on both registered and unregistered design rights. We can also advise on a worldwide design protection strategy.
Copyright arises with artistic craftsmanship, as well as design sketches, logos and website layouts. It’s an automatic right under UK law, usually given to the creator or author.
We can advise on how to protect your creative assets best. And we can support you if an individual or company infringes your copyright.
Inside knowledge of the industry, supply chains, and contacts are all valuable information to your fashion business. As are your design processes, business data and internal assets.
We can help you keep your knowledge secret with non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality advice.
Fashion pushes the boundaries of innovation. Perhaps you have an idea for wearable technology or a new fabric. If you want to protect your new invention, a patent may be required.
If so, our expert lawyers can advise you on patent protection and guide you through the application process.
We’ve provided legal support for hundreds of fashion clients since 1995.
We offer consultations with expert solicitors and fixed fee quotes.
We have offices in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, plus a global network of associates.
We offer an industry leading service with short turnaround times and business-focused advice.
Fashion law is a broad field. Due to our background and expertise, we specifically focus on any matters relating to intellectual property (IP).
If you would like to protect your IP or if you believe someone is infringing your IP, we can help. Furthermore, we can help your fashion business fully leverage its IP in order to achieve any commercial goals.
Counterfeit products are a major issue in the fashion industry. Legally, they can be a difficult problem to solve as it often requires working across different jurisdictions.
However, we have plenty of experience in this area. We can use our skills, experiences and networks to stop counterfeiting operations in their tracks. We can help you seek compensation and protect your business from any future IP infringement.
In the fashion industry, it’s fairly common for designers to take inspiration from the work of others. This is normal, and it happens across any creative pursuit. However, sometimes “taking inspiration” crosses the line into outright copying.
There are several legal routes for fashion designers to protect their work, including trade marks, design protection, and patents. The best route will depend on what you want to protect, your circumstances and your objectives.
For bespoke advice, get in touch.
We’re on hand to assist with a wide range of IP issues, just get in touch to find out more.
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