Professions
Protect a fashion collection: proof and legal support
A collection can be copied in a few weeks. Timestamp every sketch and every prototype, and get support to respond.
Your collection is on show before it is on sale
A sketch goes to the workshop, a board is shown to a buyer, a piece walks the runway or appears in a lookbook. Every presentation exposes your work before the collection reaches the stores.
Your original creations are protected by copyright from the moment you create them. In the European Union, a design that is new and distinct from existing designs is also protected for three years without registration, from its first disclosure to the public. Either way, everything rests on dates. Ipocamp gives you those dates, and legal support to enforce them.
An example
The day your collection is on sale elsewhere
What happens
Picture a designer. In January, she shows her collection at a trade show. In April, three of her designs appear, almost identical, on a low-cost online store.
Without dated proof
She has her sketches and photos, but nothing that fixes their date with certainty. The seller claims its designs existed first. She has to prove prior existence on her own, and pay for the proceedings herself.
With Ipocamp
Her sketches, tech packs and prototype photos were deposited before the show. Their date is recorded in a public ledger that no one can rewrite. She calls the legal experts of her legal protection to get the copies removed.
Is your situation different?
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With Ipocamp
From studio to defense
October
She timestamps work in progress
Sketches, trend boards, tech packs, fabric choices. Each file gets its own timestamp, with her name as the author.
January
She timestamps before showing
Before the show, she deposits the prototype photos and the lookbook. She keeps an exact record of what she presented, and when.
April
She calls a legal expert
Covéa Protection Juridique's legal experts answer by phone. She quickly learns whether the situation is a dispute and how to report it.
Conciliation
Getting the copies removed
The legal experts first seek an amicable solution: removal of the copies, regularization or a negotiated agreement.
Proceedings
A lawyer if needed
If proceedings become necessary, her defense costs are covered up to the limit of her plan: €5,000 per dispute on Individual and Independent Pro, €10,000 on Professional.
What the legal protection covers
Copyright, on every plan
Your original fashion creations fall under copyright. The legal protection covers it from the Individual plan upwards.
Designs, on the Professional plan
To enforce a design, registered or not, the Professional plan adds designs to the cover, with a cap of €10,000 per dispute.
A three-month waiting period
The cover applies three months after you subscribe, for a creation timestamped by Ipocamp, if your subscription has stayed active since that timestamp. Subscribe before trade show season.
Moments to timestamp
All file formats are accepted. Up to 2 GB per deposit without an account, unlimited with a subscription.
→Research: trend boards, color ranges, fabric tests.
→Sketches and technical drawings, at every version.
→Tech packs and patterns.
→Prototype photos, before any fitting or outside shoot.
→The final collection: lookbook, catalog, runway photos, before release.
Frequently asked questions
How do I protect a fashion collection?
Your original creations are protected by copyright from the moment you create them. To enforce it, you need to prove their date. Deposit your sketches, tech packs and prototype photos on Ipocamp at every stage. You can also register your designs with INPI, the French national intellectual property office, or with the EU office (EUIPO) to get an official title.
Should I register my designs?
Registration gives you an official title, useful for pieces that will last several seasons. For a seasonal collection, many designers rely on copyright and on the protection of unregistered designs in the European Union. Either way, dated deposits strengthen your case.
What does an Ipocamp deposit prove?
It proves that a specific file existed on a specific date, with the author you chose. It complements a design registration by dating every stage of your creative process.
My collection has been copied. What should I do?
Gather the certificates for the pieces concerned and take dated screenshots of the copies. If you are a subscriber, call the legal experts of the included legal protection. They tell you whether your situation is a dispute and how to report it.
When does the legal protection apply?
After a three-month waiting period, for a creation timestamped by Ipocamp, if your subscription has stayed active without interruption since that timestamp. So subscribe before you share your work. The exact terms are in the Covéa information notice.