Bob Baldwin, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, has launched Fashion Rules, a guide to intellectual property (IP) for Australia's clothing and fashion design industry.
Accompanied by Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa, Mr Baldwin switched on the Fashion Rules website and released the booklet Fashion Rules in Review Australia's new store in Sydney Central Plaza.
In the ultra competitive fashion industry, a registered design can empower a designer to reap the rewards from their creativity. A registered design is a form of intellectual property and can help designers stop copycats from entering the market place and stealing their unique designs.
"Investment in intellectual property protection in the fashion industry is just as important as investing time, effort and money in developing new designs", Mr Baldwin said.
“There is nothing more soul destroying than seeing your hardwork and creativity being copied and exploited by an unscrupulous operator.
"The Fashion Rules project is designed to get the intellectual property message out into the clothing and fashion design industry so that those people creating fashion have a better chance of making an informed decision in regards to IP protection."
Fashion Rules was developed by IP Australia (the government agency responsible for administering the IP system in Australia), in collaboration with the Australian Fashion Council and the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia.
"This will be a great resource for the Australian fashion industry and will help demystify the often complex world of intellectual property", Zoe Edquist, the Australian Fashion Council General Manager said.
The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources
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