Artists Deserve To Be Paid: Fashion Designs Need Copyright Protection!

Recently, designer Sam Larson discovered a Forever 21 t-shirt design that looked eerily familiar: in fact, it was almost exactly the same as a design he posted on Instagram 2 years ago.

This isn't a minor inconvenience for Larson, who makes a living selling his art through his personal online shop. In fact, in an interview with Buzzfeed, he revealed that his work has been stolen and sold for a profit without his knowledge multiple times, saying, “It’s gut wrenching to see my art turned into a product without any permission to try to profit from. It’s just wrong.”

While Larson's 235,000 fans are covering Forever 21's Facebook page with the hashtag #PaySamLarson, this controversy unfortunately points to a disturbing trend. Over the years, the clothing chain has been sued over 50 times for allegedly stealing the work of independent artists -- and is currently facing a lawsuit from H&M on the grounds of "copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition."

Despite this pattern, in many cases, there's nothing designers can do to fight back against brands like Forever 21 -- because in the US, clothing designs are not protected by copyright.

While it wouldn't make sense for functional designs like clothing to be protected for 70 years after the creator's death (the current duration of copyright protections for most forms of intellectual property), it also isn't fair to creators to have no legal recourse whatsoever. In 2012, the Innovative Design Protection Act was proposed in Congress to help close this loophole. Unfortunately, it wasn't passed.

Artists and designers have a hard enough time making a living off their work, and it's only right that they be given the legal tools they need to protect themselves. If you think that copyright protections should extend to fashion designs, please sign and share this petition demanding Congress revisit the Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012. 

Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.