Prof. Susan Scafidi, author of the Counterfeit Chic blog, is launching the nation's first-ever fashion law institute at my alma mater, Fordham Law School. The web page is sexy and politically incorrect - if not Page Six - worthy - with boldface names like Dian Von Furstenburg and no equal time for men's footwear. Who designed those shoes? This is all a good thing. A female model earns 7x to 9x what a male model does - it is a reality that does not - and should not - have the world up in arms.
I have represented fashion designers, fashion photographers, model agencies, fashion models, and a company called FashionTV for years - it is a whole different world and it is good to see a legal program launched that takes a serious look at this odd world where image is everything and buccaneers abound. For about three years of my life in a federal proceeding I wrangled over whether the mark FASHIONTV infringed on the mark FASHION TELEVISION. After winning summary judgment on the trademark claim, I won an unfair competition trial with Skadden Arps as my adversary. As Cindy Adams would say, only in New York.
