A very dubious idea — federal legislation aimed at copycat producers who “knock off” fashion and apparel designs — rears its head again. (guest posters Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman at N.Y. Times “Freakonomics”, earlier).
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Think it will work this time?
What makes people in the fashion industry think that what they do is important enough to warrant the creation of a monopoly? If the entire haute couture industry suddenly disappeared, how would society be harmed? It might even be beneficial in reducing the incidence of eating disorders among young women.
I think it’s bizarre that at a time when government respect for property rights for physical, tangible property like real estate, cars, and money is at an all-time low, that government is making such an obsessive-compulsive fetish out of intellectual property rights, extending them to every far-fetched thing under the sun.
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