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Copycat Couture: Knockoff Business Booms

Congress is currently considering legislation that would protect fashion under copyright laws.  Above, a selection of imitation designer bags.
Congress is currently considering legislation that would protect fashion under copyright laws. Above, a selection of imitation designer bags.
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From illegal counterfeits — products with forged logos hawked by street vendors — to legal knockoffs — copycat designs with non-designer labels sold in stores — imitation couture is a controversial, multi-billion-dollar industry.

Now, Congress is considering legislation that would protect fashion under copyright laws.

Dana Thomas, author, Deluxe, How Luxury Lost Its Luster; European cultural correspondent, Newsweek

Amy Larocca, contributing editor at New York magazine; author of the New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion

Kal Raustiala, professor of law at University of California, Los Angeles

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