The Protection of Handbag Design for African Designers
Handbags are a girl’s best friend!
If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then the handbag is the ever-present superhero. The handbag has become an everyday fashion staple and no outfit is complete without one. It is a very personal choice and is seen as an extension of your personal brand.
It is against this background that we consider the exponential growth in sales value of uber luxury handbag brands like Hèrmes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The sales relating to the global luxury handbag market is valued in excess of $65 billion.
No handbag is of course as famous as the Birkin Bag designed by Jane Birkin and Hèrmes.
It is also a way for new designers and influencers to make their mark in the fashion world and create an iconic brand of their own. Luxury handbags are unfortunately also a target for counterfeiters who also wish to secure a slice of this lucrative market.
African handbag designers like Anima Iris, Okapi, Hamethop and Missibaba have carved out a unique space for themselves in this market with their eye catching and unique designs.
Handbag Design Protection for African Designers
How would up and coming African designers protect their handbag designs from counterfeiters?
Firstly, there is trade mark protection which would be the name of the brand – either as appearing on the handbag or not. With the quiet luxury trend names tend no longer to appear on handbags, the handbag is simply known to emanate from a designer due to its unique and distinctive shape or design. The trade mark (name) used to market the handbag can nevertheless be filed as a trade mark.
Patterns used as a trade mark and as appearing on a handbag as a badge of origin could also qualify for trade mark protection.
Secondly there would be copyright protection for the drawing or unique pattern used on the handbag as a graphic work. Unfortunately, copyright protection would cease to exist the moment the article is reduced to three-dimensional form and manufactured through an industrial process.
The best form of protection for the unique shape and configuration of a handbag design would be an aesthetic design application in terms of the Design Act in South Africa. A registered design will allow the holder of the right exclusive rights to that design for a period of 15 years and protect against copycats. There are however strict rules around timing of the filing of the design application prior to commercial release.
For more information on how to protect your unique handbag design contact your IP specialists at .
Janine is the Director of Janine Nainkin Inc and has been a practising intellectual property attorney for more than twenty five years. Clients seek her expertise when it comes to South African IP Law, knowing they can trust her advice...