WORKS OF ART: Not an artistic free-for-all

Published by Law Society of New South Wales

In an industry where references to other fashion looks is rife, the courts have upheld an appeal by a company that another had copied its T-shirt designs.

Initially, a judge found that the second company had created a different design by making changes to the colours and numbers in the original.

However, on appeal the courts found that the ideas and concepts of a design had to be taken into account and that the company had reproduced a substantial part of the original.

Changes to colours or graphic elements of a design may not be enough to escape a conviction for copyright infringement. Designers need to take care – if they reproduce a substantial part of a design they will breach copyright rules.

The court found that the T-shirt designs were original artistic works and the case was referred back to the original judge to determine how much compensation the copiers would have to pay