Content :

The fashion industry in India is growing day by day and it has experienced significant by the choice of expansion in the last decade mainly driven by the growth of domestic designers, some of whom have gained international recognition in recent years. The importance of innovation for a fashion business in the industry is determined by the choice of it’s competitive strategy. The growth of the Indian fashion industry is highlighted by the increase in the number of large fashion events (from 1 in 2004 to 5 in 2013). As per study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the domestic designer apparel industry in India, which was of worth Rs. 720crore and was reporting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 40% in 2012, is likely to cross Rs.11,000 crore mark by 2020. On, the one side, the Indian Fashion Industry is thriving; on the other hand it is beleaguered by the menace of piracy in fashion design. A monopoly maintained by using intellectual property rights might very well, not extend the product lifecycle beyond the limits posed by the shifting changes of fashion; moreover an extended life cycle maintained in these circumstances could seriously limit the innovators agility in satisfying consumer demand in line with fashion trends and provoke an inappropriate allocation of resources to developing unfashionable innovations, resulting in much greater risk of product failure. Fashion industry has long being known for its omni nature of copying original fashion designs and ample availability of sophisticated software technology has made this practice of copying very easy. Fashion design, being considered as the creation of one’s intellectual innovation and original creativity, has escalated concern and demand apropos the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Protection of fashion design. Against this backdrop, the present paper makes a modest attempt to analyse the present IPRs regime protecting fashion designs in India in a systematic manner.