How the Fashion Industry Uses IP to Stitch Up the Fight Against Fakes

From the flea markets of Paris to the bazaars of Jalandhar, the menace of counterfeit designer goods is nearly as old as the fashion industry itself. However, as fashion businesses have become more structured and expanded under corporate frameworks over the past decade, design houses are now taking a stronger, more proactive stance in protecting their creations and brand identities.

Domestic design registrations under the Designs Act more than tripled in FY24, reaching 25,911, compared to FY20, with clothing and haberdashery leading the surge. Overall, total design applications rose 34% last year, including 3,091 filings in the clothing category — a 24% increase from the previous year. Among the top filers was Sabyasachi Calcutta LLP, operator of the luxury fashion label Sabyasachi, which submitted over 1,000 design applications, the highest across categories. The company is jointly owned by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (51%) and renowned designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee (49%).

“A decade ago, very few of us gave intellectual property (IP) protection much thought,” said fashion designer Gaurav Gupta. “Today, even smaller studios are registering their designs, documenting their work, and viewing protection as an integral part of the creative process. What once felt like a legal burden now feels like caring for your brand,” added Gupta, who has filed eight anti-counterfeiting cases since 2021.

However, Gupta noted that the dominance of a single designer in filings indicates that many others in the industry have yet to fully embrace formal IP protection.