We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The Milton Case (1955-1962). Defending the Intellectual Property Rights of Haute Couture in the United States.
- Authors
Pouillard, Veronique
- Abstract
Until recently, the protection of fashion creativity and innovation has been substantially different on both sides of the Atlantic. This has resulted in difficulties for fashion innovators and for makers of authorized copies when trying to protect their investment in design. During the first half of the twentieth century, Paris remained the centre for creativity in women's fashion design, while New York's garment industry capitalized on copying French design. The Milton case occupies a central place in the battle waged by Paris fashion industrialists against so-called American piracy. This article examines a case that took place between 1955 and 1962. A group of French couturiers filed a lawsuit in New York against F. L. Milton, an American entrepreneur specializing in making and selling sketches of Paris fashions. Paris couturiers considered this type of venture unfair, although the status of his work was ambiguous in the US markets. The case shows the challenges in an industry that occupied a complex position between high and low authorship. This contribution builds upon the case law of the Milton affair, the business records of plaintiffs and defendants, and the archives of professional associations on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Subjects
FRANCE; INTELLECTUAL property lawsuits; MILTON, Frederick L.; HAUTE couture; HAUTE couture in art; PIRACY (Copyright); 20TH century fashion; CHRISTIAN Dior SA; INTELLECTUAL property (International law)
- Publication
Journal of Design History, 2017, Vol 30, Issue 4, p356
- ISSN
0952-4649
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jdh/epx023