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Mike questions why we should introduce new IP rights in an already competitive market , asserting that "a lack of intellectual property protection actually [benefits the fashion industry]". While big name designers saw cheap knockoffs hit the shelves quickly, that only helped to drive more innovation. The designers would keep on innovating, trying to outdo each other, while building up their own brand reputation -- which would justify some of the premium they charged for the "genuine article" (quality also plays a role in the price -- the knockoffs generally aren't nearly as well made). The greatest irony, as discussed in the WSJ article , is that restricting copies may actually harm sales. "If copying were illegal, the fashion cycle would occur very slowly, if at all", which also implies less sales. The article also discusses some of the challenges of dealing with copyright in fashion. In other fields, copyright law bars duplicates found to be "substantially similar" to originals. But...
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