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A guide to help people understand how intellectual property can be effectively used in the clothing and fashion design industry has recently been launched by IP Australia. The guide, entitled Fashion Rules, was developed by IP Australia in collaboration with the Australian Fashion Council, the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia.

Fashion designers invest significant time and money in developing new clothing and accessory designs each season. Such time and money is often lost from unscrupulous operators who simply copy the designs for sale under their own brands without undertaking the hard work that comes with designing creative new pieces of clothing and accessories.

Intellectual property protection, including registered designs, trade marks, copyright, and patents, can be very effective in preventing such copying. As stated by Bob Baldwin, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, "Investment in intellectual property protection in the fashion industry is just as important as investing time, effort and money in developing new designs".