About fifteen years ago, when I first became interested in, and started writing about and later teaching fashion law, there was a dearth of conferences and events dedicated to the discipline. It wasn’t that fashion law didn’t exist – laws to protect the fashion industry can be traced back as far as 15th century France when the French Monarchy granted exclusive rights for the fabrication of textiles – but unlike music or art law, fashion was shoehorned into the wider areas of intellectual property or entertainment law, without much consideration for the specific nuances and idiosyncrasies associated with the world of fashion.
Despite being a multibillion-dollar industry, fashion did not have a dedicated and specialized field of law associated with it and there was undoubtedly a snobbery around it – fashion was deemed too frivolous and dare I say an industry more commonly associated with women, and so was not considered serious in the same way that say, tax law or securities law were. References to Legally Blonde were not uncommon.
This all changed in 2010 when the Fashion Law Institute at New York’s Fordham Law School began offering dedicated programs, bootcamps and symposiums in the area as well as dedicated clinics where fashion designers could avail of legal advice. Since then, countless fashion law firms, academics and media groups have helped develop fashion law as a specialised field across the globe, and that conferences and events are occurring weekly, is testament to how far we have come.
With this in mind, I’ve created the below list of what’s happening and where in the world of fashion law for 2024. If you are hosting an event or know of an event that you would like to be included, please drop me an email at elaine@wigsandgowns.co.uk and I’ll get it added to the list! Prices to attend these events carry wildly – some run into the thousands and are clearly aimed at the corporate purse but others are affordable, if not free.
April 2024
Conference -Villanova University – Charles Widger School of Law Annual Fashion Law Symposium
Location – Philadelphia
Description: Threads of Compliance: The Legal & Business Challenges of Fashion
Dates – Friday, 12 April
Registration – Register for the Symposium here
Event – Fashion Forward: Navigating The Legal Landscape In Style
Location – Ohio
Description – Attendees will gain invaluable insights into the business of fashion and discover how intellectual property protections can be your most powerful accessory on the journey to fashion success.
Dates – Saturday, 13 April 2024
Registration – Registration here
Conference – The Intersection of Fashion and Law: Compliance and Innovation
Location: New York – Fashion Institute of Technology.
Description – A wide selection of topics including IP law, navigating the law as a digital creator and Copyright, Ethical Dilemmas and Quality Control associated with Jewelry.
Date – Tuesday, April 16 · 9:30am – 4:30pm EDT
Tickets – Details and Tickets can be found here
Conference – IBA European Fashion and Luxury Law Conference
Location: Terrazza Martini, Milan
Description: The significant impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the fashion industry, the evolving concept of luxury in the fashion industry, emphasising exclusivity and uniqueness as essential elements of luxury brands.
Tickets: Details and registration here
Conference – Federal Bar Association’s Paris Fashion Law Conference
Location – Paris
Description – Artificial Intelligence, Intellectual Property and Succession Planning in the Fashion Industry all feature in this half day conference in Paris.
Date -Thursday, 25 April 2024
Tickets – Details and Tickets can be found here
May 2024
Conference – Fashion Law London – Fashion Reborn: The Age of AI
Location – London
Description – An afternoon of discussions exploring the impact, challenges, and potential of AI for the fashion industry.
Date – Monday, May 13th
Tickets – Details and Registration information can be found here
Event – Copyright Society Present – Chevrons, Colors and Stripes, Oh My!: Evaluating the Legacy of Star Athletica 7 Years Down the Line
Location – New York Bar Society
Date – Tuesday, May 14th
Description – The panel will look back at the 2017 Star Athletica decision and discuss its impact on copyright protection for fashion in ensuing years. In addition to examining post-Star Athletica case law, the panel will consider how the decision has impacted Copyright Office practice.
Registration – Details can be found here
Conference – Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit
Location – Venice
Description – Co-chaired by the FT’s editor Roula Khalaf and the HTSI’s editor Jo Ellison, you will be joined by leading executives from the industry as well as policymakers and entrepreneurs to debate the latest changes in luxury and what the future has in store.
Date – Sunday May 19th – Tuesday May 21st 2024
Tickets – Details and Registration information can be found here.
Event – Fordham Fashion Law Institute’s Annual Fashion Law Bootcamp
Location – New York
Description – Fashion Law Bootcamp is an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the substance of style, with emphasis on current business and legal issues involving the global fashion industry.
Dates – Tuesday, May 28th – Saturday, June 1st, 2024.
Registration – Details can be found here
June 2024
Event – Luxury Law Summit
Location – London
Description – Luxury Law Summit 2024 will look at why the legal department is uniquely placed to steer luxury businesses and what is needed to take the lead. How can a brand be positioned and protected in an era of activism? How can a culture of wellbeing and inclusivity be fostered in a company? How can true luxury consumers and Gen Z co-exist?
Dates Tuesday, 11th June 2024
Registration – Details are Tickets here
Event – The Chartered Institute of Trademark Attorneys London Lecture – The impact of artificial intelligence on IP law in the world of fashion
Location – London
Description – Using the world of fashion brands, the lecture will delve into one of today’s key issues for the profession: what does AI mean for IP?
Date – Wednesday, 06 June 2024
Registration & Sign up to attend can be found here
July 2024
Conference – ASIA Security Conference & Exhibition/ Anti-Counterfeit & Brand Protection
Location – New Delhi, India
Description – A critical platform, uniting brand owners, regulators, law enforcement agencies, government policymakers, and security solution providers to address challenges in anti-counterfeiting, online brand protection, cross-border product security, product smuggling, and diversion. This comprehensive event aims to explore and discuss the profound impacts of illicit trade on governments, brands, and society.
Dates Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Tickets and Registration – Here
September 2024
Conference – Fashion Law and Business Conference Lagos 2023
Location – Lagos, Nigeria
Description The Future of Fashion with Technology – Diving deep into the exciting possibilities that lie at the intersection of fashion, law, technology, and business.
Dates Saturday, 14 September
Registration Tickets and registration details can be found here.
November 2024
Conference – Anti-Counterfeiting World Law Summit
Location – London
Description – Convening Heads of IP Brand Protection from some of the world’s best-known brands, alongside policymakers, government agencies, law enforcement and technology innovators.
Dates – Thursday, Thursday, 07 November 2024
Registration – Details can be found here
Seminar – Milano Fashion Institute Fashion Law Seminar – IP in the Metaverse
Location – Milan, Italy
Description — These seminars are designed to provide fashion professionals, lawyers, and students with an in-depth understanding of the legal framework that governs specific issues, as diverse as Intellectual Property, Common Law & Civil Law, Right of Publicity up to the Metaverse. Led by industry experts, they are accredited by the Italian Lawyers Order (Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano) and provide a final certificate. Relevant
Dates Friday, 08 November
Details and registration can be found here.
Seminar – Milano Fashion Institute Fashion Law Seminar -Rights of Publicity
Location – Milan, Italy
Description — These seminars are designed to provide fashion professionals, lawyers, and students with an in-depth understanding of the legal framework that governs specific issues, as diverse as Intellectual Property, Common Law & Civil Law, Right of Publicity up to the Metaverse. Led by industry experts, they are accredited by the Italian Lawyers Order (Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano) and provide a final certificate. relevant and contemporary legal issues of the
Dates – Friday, 15 November
Details and registration can be found here
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