Comments on: Design Piracy Prohibition Act

By: More on fashion knock-off litigation

More on fashion knock-off litigation — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:46:03 +0000

[…] at Miss Trials (via Above the Law, Coleman). More on the proposed Design Piracy Prohibition Act here and […]

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:11:44 +0000

On the CPSIA widget, I believe it can be used with credit to Daniela Shelton, “Hasenpfeffer”:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5403127

Should you have doubts about this, do contact her directly at her Etsy page.

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:03:24 +0000

Unfortunately most government agencies look at small businesses as a rock in their shoe, and yet look at how many of us are out there – putting food on our tables from our local farm stands, buying our gas from our neighbor Roger down the street, paying our outrageous (and soon to be more so) taxes…
This will be so much of a “which came first, the chicken or the egg” – what a waste of time and money!
I would love your teddy bear ‘say no to the CPSIA’ widget to post on my blog – please contact me and let me know if this is possible. thanks, Liz

By: amanda

amanda — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:02:43 +0000

Disgusting! I say “GET OVER YOURSELVES!” It sounds like more greedy rich people trying to make more money in an economy where their business is hurting.
There are so many things wrong with this and I can only hope above all hope that O’bama and congress have better things to do with their time right now.

By: ps

ps — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:00:40 +0000

Yet again big business gets laws designed to protect big business. End the lunacy now before everything you own ends up belonging to the lawyers.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:55:12 +0000

It’s killing our entreprenurial spirit, also it’s a blow against grass roots capitalism, the chance to better yourself and work harder to do so. It’s much easier to let the government be the parent and do everything for us, but that’s a weakening of society. It’s like they’re destroying creativity for control.

By: Megan

Megan — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:00:20 +0000

You know what, I am a conspiracy theorist and I think that’s EXACTLY what they’re doing.

Sometimes I really just want to leave this country so I can be free to run my own damn business!

By: Sara B.

Sara B. — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:16:49 +0000

BINGO, Melanie!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:30:23 +0000

This just REEKS of being another CPSIA…with a lot of “unintended consequences”…It will be perverted, and will only help the very big name designers, and companies with a lot of money and time that they can invest by “copyrighting” their designs, and then suing anyone they think is infringing…and just like CPSIA, you’ll be assumed to be guilty, until you hire a lawyer, go to court, and try to prove you haven’t violated this law. It will severely impact consumer choice and price in the marketplace. It needs to be stopped now.
You know, if I were a conspiracy theorist, I would swear our current government is deliberately trying to kill ALL small business by passing all of these laws that are unreasonable and too expensive for most businesses to comply with. When you add up all of the recent laws, and pending legislation, from CPSIA, to the food bills, to the animal tagging and now this…it spells the end to all small business and American creativity, ingenuity, and that entrepreneurial spirit that made this country great.

By: Bill Poser

Bill Poser — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:23:51 +0000

This strikes me as a terrible idea for several reasons: (a) deciding what is a copy will be even more subjective and difficult than in the case of copyrights and patents; (b) as I understand it, the big money in fashion is in short term trends – if no-name firms copy the leaders after a time, it won’t hurt much as the leaders will already have made their money; (c) the purpose of IP law, as stated in the Constitution, is to promote the advance of the arts and sciences, not to enrich the trendy. Do new fashions in clothing have enough value for society to warrant such legal protection? I doubt it; (d) the USPTO is already overburdened. Gratuitously adding work is not a good idea.