Ìý
This talk examines how fashion designers have used intellectual property rights to protect their creations from piracy, and to advertise the authenticity of their products.Ìý
Among the numerous couturiers that have participated in this effort, the archives-based research presented in this talkÌýfocuses onÌýthe examples of MadeleineÌýVionnetÌýand Christian Dior, who, along with their legal teams, pioneered the development of extensive intellectual property rights portfolios. These designers used various legal tools to protect andÌýtoÌýmarket their work, including trademark, copyright, patent, trade dress, and anti-competition laws. During the interwar period, most ofÌý³Õ¾±´Ç²Ô²Ô±ð³Ù’sÌýlegal action remained centeredÌýin France, but the postwar case of Dior shows how, later on,Ìýsuch strategies could be used on international markets. Finally, the talk questions ³Ù³ó±ðÌýadvantagesÌýandÌýinconveniencesÌýof using law as a commercial instrument in the creative industries.Ìý
³Õé°ù´Ç²Ô¾±±ç³Ü±ðÌýPouillardÌýis a professor of international history at the University of Oslo. She holds a PhD in history from ³Ù³ó±ðÌý±«²Ô¾±±¹±ð°ù²õ¾±³ÙéÌýLibre deÌýBruxelles, and she was a Harvard-Newcomen Fellow at the Harvard Business School. She is a co-editor of ³Ù³ó±ðÌýOxford Handbook of Luxury Business. Her next book,ÌýParis to New York. The Transatlantic Fashion Industry in the Twentieth Century, is forthcoming with Harvard University Press in May.Ìý³Õé°ù´Ç²Ô¾±±ç³Ü±ðÌýcurrently leads the ERC-fundedÌýproject CreativeÌýIPR: The History of Intellectual Property Rights in the Creative Industries.Ìý
Organised by Dr Rebecca Arnold (The Courtauld) and Kathryn Reed (The Courtauld)Ìý
