Jan 2022

Foreword: Luxury Law Over Borders Comparative Guide

The recent months of global pandemic have shown us that the Luxury Goods business has true resilience, flexibility and enduring appeal to its ever growing client base. Traditional routes to market have quietly coexisted alongside the ever dynamic e-commerce business model and supported by the explosion in social media platforms and offerings. Are we different to any other business sector? As an insider, the answer must be yes, we thrive on the personal interactions, we love to share our artisanal skills with our customers and we strive to bring the customer experience to the pinnacle of experiential interaction. A global pandemic with restrictions on travel, boutique closures and limitations on customer gatherings all conspire to challenge the prerequisites of our business model. However, as the business results show, we can adapt and continue to delight our customers with our precious creations.

The legal landscape constantly challenges the possibilities of protecting our artistic expressions through restrictions on protecting 3D trademarks globally, limiting the scope of copyright protection and jurisdictional complexities around online enforcement. Are we different? We beg to answer yes, our creations are designed to delight and endure for generations, not just a couple of years like the average consumer product. We must find ways to bridge those rights with limited lives such as designs and copyright with more strategic protection plans that can endure.

Now we can exist in a metaverse, how do our products and our rights translate into this new world of NFT’s and digitally downloadable clothing and accessories? We are on the cusp of answering that. Will the trademark regime give the necessary protection and flexibility? While our maisons aim to fulfil desires, surprise and excite with their beautiful craftsmanship, we wait to see how this translates into the metaverse and the nature of the inevitable copies. There is no decrease in the volume and sophistication of those seeking to steal our creativity and short circuit our craftsmanship, and there is no decrease in those willing to pay for a poor substitute. Can we change the thinking and cut off the demand side of the equation? Perhaps the increasing awareness of sustainability and CSR more generally will lead people to appreciate the value of intellectual property and its role in protecting true craftsmanship.

This book offers a one stop shop to the curious reader eager to navigate the cross border nature of our dilemma. No one legal tool provides the ‘silver bullet’ and this book provides the armoury needed.