Generally, clothing design isn't copyrightable.

the generally accepted term in the fashion world is "knockoff"
likely it's been done since the first cave man crafted the loincloth with zebra stripes and someone like Barney Rubble or Fred Flintstone thought that was bad ass and went out and made their own loincloth with (you guessed it) zebra stripes.

If we boycotted any apparel manufacture that didn't knockoff we would have a hard time with clothing. Denim jeans is the easy example.

Oh well...

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

Your friend just found out the hard way that ethical and legal are two different things. Lots of people in business only care about staying legal and don't give two shits about ethics. Yes this was a dick move and they knew precisely that they were ripping your friend off. But doubtful he can do anything about it legally. Shame them in social media? But then again most consumers only care for getting a good deal and don't give a shit about whether or not the product was made ethically. :/

You should see how many team kits look like Sky...

I just know what I googled, not a lawyer, but it appears that aspects of clothing which are separated from the utilitarian function can be copyrighted. That can include things like the print on the fabric.

https://www.newmediarights.org/...ght_clothing_designs

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

The print on the fabric was not created by the bike shop mentioned in the original post.

That's a "maybe" at best, with a sprinkling of "generally no".

This has been going on forever - a look that appears at NYFW (or anywhere else) will be at Macy's under a quite pedestrian brand shortly, under a different label, with a few tweaks. Do note that the Ownway version has black side panels instead of striped, by the looks of it. Is that enough to get them legally in the clear? Maybe; that's for the lawyers to figure out if it gets that far. This is why much of fashion has centered around gigantic trademarked logos - a handbag that's cut and colored almost exactly like a Louis Vuitton is legal. One covered in the LV logo isn't (though you can still get them of course, but they are illegal). The logo in this case was also changed, of course.

Somehow, months ago I read an article about this and can't find it now. Googling just yields acres of sites wanting to sell me knockoffs instead of talking about them.

The OP said his friend "asked" that the design not be shared. Was that in writing, or something he mentioned while talking with the vendor and just assumed would be honored? Did it cover derivatives, or no? It's still a pretty dick move by Ownway, but probably not illegal. It's also a general risk with vendors; Honda was originally a parts supplier to Toyota instead of a competitor, as one example. Does it suck? Yes. Business often does.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Because as a lawyer, I'm highly skeptical of posts like this that have what I consider to be numerous red flags.

Don't want to believe my positive experience, fine. But why do you automatically believe the OPs?? Again I cannot speak directly to this situation. Nor can you.

You think the OP may have a legal claim (or ethical) "claim" against Chris or the Company based on the story he told. He might. I also think Chris or the company may have a legal (or ethical) "claim" against the OP because now people such as yourself now view him and his company in a more negative light based upon things said by the OP here.

This has the makings of Rapp/Tollakson.

I'm not opining on the merits of this particular case, just that what you said was incorrect. If it is a unique design separate from the utilitarian aspects of clothing, then it may be subject to copyright protection.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Nothing at all compared to Rapp/Tollakson.

All the shop wants is an apology from Chris and for him to cease and desist the using their designs. The shop is fine with Chris selling their designs, as long as he pays royalties. They wanted to settle this privately, however Chris has ignored all forms of communication, thus the decision to make this public to warn others who are thinking about using him as a manufacturer.

As one half of the aforementioned incident, let me just say that unless you have absolutely no other means of recourse, it's not worth going public. I know Chris. I'd be happy to contact him on your behalf. Though, as others have said, copyright infringement is tough with clothing. Have you spoken to a lawyer? Have you had a lawyer contact Chris?

I can appreciate your frustrations, but the whole, "I want to post this as a warning" thing is fraught with peril. Should you wish to reconsider, I am also happy to take this post down for you. Let me know

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I'm curious on your take, as an attorney. If you are able to "copyright" a clothing design, is it possible to copyright it after the fact? As in, I conceived this design 12 months ago, showed this design to someone 6 months ago, and now I wants it copyright it as mine. Is that possible, in general?

Why do you think that the bike shop created the print on the fabric?

I didn't say that they did or didn't create the print. I have no idea. I'm just talking about copyright protection on clothing, in general terms.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Honestly, I'm not an IP (Intellectual Property-patents, copyrights, trademarks) attorney. I took the class in law school but just don't remember. I'm sure there is an IP attorney lurking on here. What I do know is that there are many sides to a story and I doubt the story is as simple as it was presented. I'm not defending anyone's actions on either side because I have enough information to have an informed opinion. I was simply relaying that I had a positive experience with OwnWay and the above post won't dissuade me from working with Chris in the future.

You specifically quoted my comment about the bike shop not creating the print on the fabric and then said that my statement was incorrect.

not knowing any other side of this, i think the point has been made by the OP, but i don't think we need to drag this out for 400 posts. if i can find anything out about this, or am contacted by any party (i haven't been) i may reopen this. or write about it. or let a new thread start. i'm going to close but not remove this thread, at least until more illustrative information is forthcoming.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman