Fast Fashion: EU-Wide

Reducing the time it takes to get new fashion lines to customers is key to maintaining a commercial advantage. The traditional 6-month lead time on new stock is now often closer to 3 months. Some brands such as Public Desire have told how they have sourced materials, produced and promoted footwear in a 6-week timeframe in order to be on people's feet first. Such "fast fashion" is characterised by very rapid production cycles, low cost and is often inspired by the catwalks or celebrities. This does however expose retailers to risks of infringement of design rights and other intellectual property rights. A recent decision in the case of OTB v Zara serves as a useful reminder that an infringement of third party IP rights can result in a claim in the courts in one EU member state for an injunction and damages in all EU countries where the products have been sold.