PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 13, 2011
Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act - Extends copyright protection to fashion designs. Revises the definition of "useful article" to include an article of apparel (clothing, handbags, purses, wallets, tote bags, belts, and eyeglass frames).
Excludes from protection designs embodied in a useful article made public by the designer or owner: (1) more than two years before the date of the application for registration in the case of a vessel hull design, and (2) more than three years before the date upon which protection of the design is asserted in the case of a fashion design.
Prohibits considering the presence or absence of a particular color or of a pictorial or graphic work imprinted on fabric when determining the protection of a fashion design.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Sets the term of protection at 3 years for a fashion design and 10 years for a design of a vessel hull.
Revises provisions concerning acting without knowledge to state that it is not infringement to make, have made, import, sell, offer for sale, advertise, or distribute any article embodying a design which was created without knowledge, either actual or reasonably inferred from the totality of the circumstances, that a design was protected and was copied from such protected design.
Prohibits deeming a vessel hull design to have been copied from a protected design if it is original and not substantially similar in appearance to a protected design.
Prohibits deeming a fashion design to have been copied from a protected design if it: (1) is not substantially identical in overall visual appearance to and as to the original elements of a protected design, or (2) is the result of independent creation.
Rewrites the remedy for infringement to state, in general, that: (1) in the case of a vessel hull, the owner of a design is entitled, after issuance of a certificate of registration of the design, to institute an action for any infringement of the design; and (2) in the case of a fashion design, the owner of a design is entitled to institute an action for any infringement of the design after the design is made public.
Increases the penalty for false representation.
Excludes protected fashion designs from: (1) importation enforcement regulations issued by the Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Service, and (2) seizure and forfeiture provisions. Limits the applicability of such regulations and provisions to specified vessel hulls.
People & committees
Rep. Goodlatte, Bob [R-VA-6] · R–VA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1314)
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Jun 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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