There’s something quite interesting about creating products at the intersection of two fascinating fields: fashion and technology. Even brands who have been in the industry for decades such as Levis are starting to dabble in fashiontech. However, as with any relatively new field, there are always legal concerns to be aware of. Here are three legal elements your new fashiontech startup needs to look into.
Of course, please take this as legal information and not legal advice. If you have any questions regarding your fashiontech product or your startup, send us an email at info@artylaw.ca.
Intellectual property
This is a topic that all fashion brands have to be very conscious of, even without any technological component.
While you’re developing your products, you should be protecting your IP by including clauses in your contracts with consultants, your team, and other third-parties regarding the IP’s ownership.
As for governmental protection, there are different types of intellectual property that protect different aspects of your business and when it comes to fashiontech, all of them should be looked into. Of course, trademarks (logos, names of products, the name of your startup, etc.) should be registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. As for your products, copyrights, industrial designs, and patents can all be relevant, depending on what you are selling.
You should therefore seek proper legal counsel. This is will not only help you determine how to effectively protect your intellectual property, but also help you figure out whether or not you are infringing on someone else’s IP.
Data protection
Because of the very nature of fashiontech, wearables and other similar products collect a very high amount of data. Your consumers have to be aware of the type of information your products are gathering about them. Having a privacy policy or a purchase agreement outlining, amongst other things, the type of personal information you are collecting, why you are collecting it and what you will be doing with it is therefore absolutely necessary.
You should also think about privacy as you develop your fashiontech products. Try not to collect information that is not necessary and consider including features such as remote erase to protect your users’ information. You should also have internal protocols in case of data breach, hacking, and other potential issues regarding data collection.
Compliance
Depending on what products you plan on developing and selling, there might be a variety of laws you have to be compliant to such as health regulations (if you want to sell wearables for fitness purposes for instance) and labelling laws.
In order to make sure there are no problems with your products when they hit the market, take the time to consult a lawyer before commercializing your fashiontech creations.
If you have any questions regarding fashiontech legal requirements, send us an email at info@artylaw.ca or click the link below to schedule a consultation.
