23 May 2013Trademarks

Luxury Law Summit: IP lawyers flock to luxury brand discussion

IP lawyers, academics and retailers flocked to London’s Caledonian Club for the first Luxury Law Summit, co-hosted by Global Legal Post and the International Herald Tribune.

Mark Wyatt of Global Legal Post, a legal publication, opened a day of discussion about the most immediate issues facing luxury brands as they expand to emerging economies, and the challenges raised by social networking and 3D printing.

Speakers examined the industry’s growth prospects, which recovered well from the financial crisis, though as John Russell, founder of debt management firm Spire Partners observed, with growth comes risk.

Laudomia Pucci, deputy chairman and image director at fashion designer Pucci, insists on keeping the supply chain “100 percent Italian” to keep tabs on counterfeiting, though the intricacy of the prints means detecting counterfeits can be challenging.

Pucci said there are two brand protection approaches available: either sharing the brand’s heritage with the public or keeping it under wraps.

“We think it’s better to put it out there,” she said.

An increasing awareness of IP among the younger generation is a vital current issue, Pucci added, meaning that sending “a strong message to the young will be very good for all of us”.

Iolanda Tursi, general counsel to luxury shoe brand Kurt Geiger, spoke about the importance of IP management on monetising a brand.

Barbara Kolsun, general counsel at fashion brand Stuart Weitzman, made a case for the “embedded lawyer”, an in-house counsel who works closely with the brand as it grows, advises on IP applications, protection and prosecution, averts risk, and can see things from an ethical perspective.

“We are the guardians of corporate integrity,” she said.

The biggest challenge is containing costs, Kolsun said, as any capital invested in brand protection and anti-counterfeiting efforts will inevitably be taken away from marketing or distribution.

She said the recent factory collapse in Bangladesh that claimed more than 1,000 lives highlights the importance of compliance and maintaining control at all points of the supply chain.

A panel discussion entitled ‘Emerging markets: a risky business?’ featured speakers Kim Winser, founder of fashion brand Winser London, Ashish Chordia, founder and chief executive of Indian luxury brand Shreyans, and Loke-Khoon Tan, partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP in Hong Kong.

Emerging markets, including India, China and other countries in South East Asia, will account for 40 percent of growth in the luxury industry in the next few years. We need to find new partners, and the best routes to bringing products to market, Wyatt, of Global Legal Post, said.

Tan described the IP legal landscape in China as “extremely different” from the rest of the world. China is becoming the largest market in the world for luxury brands, and maintaining control is difficult, he said.

He added that the route to brand protection is “convoluted”, and that errors in translation can alter brand meaning.

There needs to be change in mindset in China, he said, where there is an enduring belief that counterfeiting creates a secondary market. Additionally, he said, there is a belief that IP is for use by all: “If you don’t share IP in China, you’re considered selfish.”

Chordia talked about the brands setting up in India under the impression that it was a “second China”, though there is not a market for luxury brands in the country yet. He added that India is not as “logo-driven” as China, and that it is more “a country of intangibles”.

Winser referenced a culture for sub-licensing in emerging markets, which can cause companies to lose a grip on their brands.

She added that counterfeiting is not the only problem in the region, noting that some factories overproduce legitimate products.

Tan said the law on bad faith registrations is being revised in China, and a change due in the summer will bring it more in line with the global standard, as opposed to the “first-come-first-served” system.

However, he said, while the law differs in theory, we may still need that “silver bullet” in practice.

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