The Fashion Industry As a Model For IP Reform

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday May 25, 2010 @08:12PM from the rip-mix-burn dept.

Scrameustache writes "In this 15-minute TED talk, Johanna Blakley addresses a subject alien to most here — fashion — but in a way sure to grab our attention. The lesson is about how the fashion industry's lack of copyright protection can teach other industries about what copyright means to innovation. And yes, she mentions open source software. There is one killer slide at 12:20 comparing the gross sales of low-IP-protection industries with those of films and books and music. If you want to know more, or if you prefer text, the Ready To Share project website should give you all the data you crave on the subject."

1 of 398 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Umm, are you kidding? by Numair · 2010-05-25 20:24 · Score: 0, Troll

Obviously nobody has heard of "Forever 21." The fashion industry's biggest problem right now is IP theft -- you talk to any of the young, creative designers that are moving things forward, and they will tell you about how all of their designs are being ripped off by mall stores.
The Slashdot crowd may find this hard to believe, but you should be glad that the megacorps in our industry work to protect the IP of the industry's creative people. Fashion is a perfect example of the corporate machine deciding that theft is a better business plan ... Perhaps the exact opposite of a "model for IP reform"!