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Spending the better part of 40+ years with a variety of major fashion retailers, I have learned some certain truths. Along with the inevitability of death and taxes is the truth that , in fashion, what had gone around comes around again. The cycle is usually generational. For some reason, every 40 years the essence of the hot fashion of the time is revived and given the title “Retro”. It was only natural, that with the upsurge in Vintage Automobile collecting and racing, some of the hot fashion associated with with the era of the 1960’s / 1970’s would start showing marriage about now - and also inevitable that there would be a large appeal to a younger, non automotive related audience.

First comes the fabric. Leather jackets have always been cool, but when worn by Marlon Brando and his motorcycle gang, Jimmy Dean in his Porsche 550, Steve McQueen “The King of Cool” in the Great Escape - “cool” had a new meaning. Leather in jackets relating to automobiles, modern and vintage, is back with a vengence. Next comes the style. When I was buying jackets back in the late 60’s / early 70’s there was one style designed for “cool ” drivers and its generic name was the descriptive name of the company - “Style Auto”. Literally thousands of dozens of this style in a variety of fabric were made. It’s baaaack.

Tony “a2z racer” Adamowicz, working from his original 1970 collection of jackets has produced and is marketing an improved retro Top Grain Leather Jacket that captures the essence of the original. Perfect for both the new and old Porsche, Corvette, BMW, Shelby Mustang GT500, etc. Tony, who just had a podium finish at Infineon Raceway in his 40 year old 1969 F5000 Championship car, said that he will also be designing this Satin Lined, Leather Jacket in other fabrics including Corduroy and Nylon Cire. Tony plans to be styling in his vintage Datsun 240Z. I plan to follow suit in my 65 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. Niche market to mainstream continues to be the mantra for retro design.

For more information about:

Retro Racing Apparel

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Vintage Automotive Accessories

Norman Silverman, in addition to 40+ years of International Buying and Retailing, is a Automobile Afficiando and Vintage Race Driver.

The choices of motorcycle jackets available today are varied and plentiful. Styles are as unique as their designers, and modern synthetic materials give the biker an added option over the standard leather jacket, a tried and true material for protection against the elements and the road

When making a decision on the purchase of a new motorcycle jacket, there are basically three areas of consideration that come into play, with various degrees of magnitude:

• the style of jacket preferred by the individual consumer
• the comfort and durability of the style and material used
• protection against the elements of wind, water, and temperature, as well as against the road

By today’s standards, most of the major motorcycle apparel manufacturers have come to agree on a common set of characteristics that tend to the specific needs of bikers as learned over the years. Many of these needs vary with personal taste, and will vary with the type of riding being done, and the individual priorities of the discerning consumer.

To begin with, lets discuss the different styles of motorcycle jackets that have made the biker culture into a dating category of the fashion industry.

For Motorcycle Jackets, Style Counts

While it may seem frivolous compared to the dire consequences of safety and protection, motorcycle fashion has evolved into distinct styles that offer the consumer choices based on just what kind of riding is being done, how often, and in what kind of weather.

As is its nature, the fashion industry has come up with just the right piece of clothing, tailored to fit your kind of riding, and making sure you are looking good doing it! Lets look at some of the general styles available.

The Traditional Classic Motorcycle Jacket

The traditional motorcycle jacket first came on the scene in 1928 in the form of the double sided Perfecto, manufactured by Schott NYC. Through the years the Victoria’s Secret style has been improved upon in many ways, but the basic traditional style remains a constant.

The traditional motorcycle jacket has enjoyed wild bouts of popularity in the fashion world.  In 1958 Marlon Brando debuted the style in the film The Wild Ones, and subsequent appearances in films by James Dean and others have brought the jacket in and out of style throughout its history. Perhaps because of the kind of films it was portrayed in, the traditional motorcycle jacket has taken on a somewhat bad boy image, a rebel type personality, or even a criminal element, consequently gaining or loosing cool points, depending on your side of the fence.

While fads and fashion trends go in and out of style, for the biker community, the classic motorcycle jackets popularity is based not on its cool good looks, but on its practicality

Traditional style motorcycle jackets have become classic mainly because the material they are made of, leather, is and remains one of the best form of protection from the elements. More importantly, it provides a second layer of skin between the biker and the rough surface of an asphalt road, reducing the likelihood of painful skin grafts in the event of an unfortunate skid across the road.

Of course, leather jackets can be made into many different styles, but what makes the classic motorcycle jacket unique for bikers is that it tends to the bikers needs. Plenty of storage is provided for with cargo pockets, inside pockets, and the generous use of zippers and snaps in the form of pockets, air vents, sleeve cuffs, and snap downs.

The modern motorcycle jacket is designed with an eye on the various positions a biker might find himself in. Slightly longer arm length provides for a more comfortable ride when leaning forward, and the backs of the jackets provide for some extra length so they dont ride up in the same position.

The option of side laces makes for a snugger, warmer fit in the cold months, and the better traditional motorcycle jackets will have an insulated zip out lining, making it a jacket for all seasons.

One particular aspect of most traditional motorcycle jackets that pretty much defines the look, is the inclusion of a belt. Classic motorcycle jackets that include a belt opt for a half belt more often than not, with a large buckle in the front. Full removable belts complete with belt loops are available on some jackets. Practically speaking, a belt is good for tightening up the jacket, and to keep it from flapping around at high speeds.

Throughout the years, the traditional style motorcycle jacket has catered best to the needs of the biking community by providing a tough and durable jacket that conforms to the unique positions only a biker would find themselves in. With the use of heavy duty hardware, this classic style provides for plenty of places to put things (to counter the lack of such on the motorcycle itself), and includes multiple options for your comfort and protection year round.

Michael Talbert is the creator, owner, and operator of Biker Leather Ltd., an online retailer of fine leather and textile motorcycle jackets, chaps, leather vests and biker accessories. visit the website at http://www.NakedLeatherBiker.com

The long-preserved and strict rules of wearing only formal dresses seem to be dying out. They are slowly giving way to once “unacceptable” semi-casual dresses. These dresses are no longer taboo on jewelry office premises.

Interestingly, they are being approved by those who hold the high ranks. They don’t seem to raise their eyebrows any longer on this changing trend. This “just in” semi-casual attitude has added many colors and spices to a very formal (read colorless) environment of the offices.

The office goers, around the world, are shedding their full sleeve shirts and formal pants with a distinct enthusiasm. Even, the neckties have become pretty optional ones. The professionals at all places are not reluctant, even slightly, to join this latest bandwagon.

On office days, a polo neck t-shirt coupled with a well-fit pant is a common rage. Many are putting on jeans with stylish striped shirts. The ladies are showing a special liking for straight skirts along with some light colored semi-casual tops.

But amazingly, this “unconventional” norm too has got its “conventions”. These rules help a wearer to remain on the right track of semi-formalism. Otherwise, the wearer may creep into the realm of extreme casual dress sense.

The plain colored shirts, not bright red, deep orange or printed ones, can be paired with jeans or chinos. The striped pants and flattering skirts must be avoided. They give a boring look. The excess of jewelry is bad. A light color pearled necklace will suffice.

The wearers profoundly explain the benefits of wearing semi-formals in the offices. They believe wearing semi-casuals make them comfortable, and allows them to look dashing.

But what they forcefully emphasize is that these dresses enhance their productivity. They accept that they seem to be more active in semi-casual apparel.

For more about clothing trends click here on fashion apparel

To read more of my related writings, kindly cosmetics through my blog Exploring Fashion

The absence of an international sovereign makes a global IPRs system problematic. Every nation has different intellectual property laws, making cooperation difficult, although many international IPRs agreements have been developed. Which nation’s standards should apply? Most international agreements take a national approach in which a country agrees to provide foreign innovators with the same protection provided to its domestic citizens. Creators of intellectual property generally must seek protection separately in each jurisdiction, a cumbersome process.

The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides support for the international intellectual property system. Its mission is “to promote through international cooperation the creation, dissemination, use and protection of works of the human mind for the economic, cultural and social progress of all mankind.”

Globalization has increased the need for more international IPRs coordination. Multinational organizations seek consistent laws across borders and inventors want universal protection for their inventions. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) attempts to provide a more standard IPRs system and sets minimum protection that must lips provided by all member states.

Ethical issues become particularly important at the international level (Rischard 2002). Some fear that increasing IPRs protection will increase inequities between the developed and the developing world. Others are concerned that IPRs deny access to products desperately needed by the poor or powerless. Still others believe adequate IPRs standards are critical to promoting technology transfer and foreign investment.

IPRs can deny access to essential products and information to those who need them most, particularly in developing countries. Drug research and development is extremely expensive, and pharmaceutical countries price drugs to recoup expenses and make a profit. No one else is allowed to manufacture drugs protected under patents. Those who need the drugs often have little money. Is it fair to allow people to die because they cannot afford drugs that could prolong their lives?

The TRIPS Agreement allows for compulsory licenses, an exception to IPRs in special cases such as emergencies, that give developing countries access to essential drugs for major health problems such as HIV/AIDS or malaria. Such policies may have a boomerang effect; pharmaceutical companies may be less likely to invest in research to develop drugs for conditions found primarily in poor countries if there is no profit to be made. The answer to the drug access problem may be better addressed by turning to solutions unrelated to intellectual property rights, such as foreign makeup Some pharmaceutical companies have made drugs available at drastically reduced rates to those who cannot afford them.

Inspiration for new products often comes from local or traditional knowledge. Who should benefit when a drug company develops a new drug based on knowledge about the properties of a plant gained from an indigenous tribe in a remote region? Is the company that developed a commercial drug entitled to all the profits or should it share revenues with the people who supplied the information or with the country from which the plants are harvested?

For more information on International Intellectual Property, visit my International Intellectual Property Information here.

Background

In 1988, renowned menswear fashion Abecita Joseph Abboud entered into a joint venture with GFT International Inc. (”GFT”) to create JA Apparel Corp. to manufacture, market, and sell various products under marriages abroad Joseph Abboud brand name. In 1996, GFT bought out Abboud’s interest in JA Apparel and secured new licenses from Abboud to use the “Joseph Abboud” trademark.

In 2000, JA Apparel entered into a contract with Abboud, paying him $65.5 million for exclusive rights to the label, along with the associated names and trademarks including “Joseph Abboud, “designed by Joseph Abboud,” “JA,” “JOE,” and similar names. The agreement also included a non-compete agreement lasting until mid-July 2007. Following the 2000 agreement, Abboud had a falling-out with the company.

Prior to July 2007, Abboud began work on a new, competing menswear line called “jaz” that he planned to launch as soon as the non-compete agreement expired. He planned to promote the new line with promotional phrases like “a new composition by designer Joseph Abboud.”

JA Apparel immediately sued Abboud in federal court in New York, alleging trademark infringement and breach of contract over Abboud’s plan to use his name in the jaz marketing. The company also claimed that Abboud breached his noncompete agreement by working on the new line before the agreement expired.

The opinion is found at JA Apparel Corp. v. Joseph Abboud, NO. 07 Civ. 7787(THK), 2008 WL 2329533 (SDNY, June 5, 2008).

Abboud’s plans to use his name constituted breach of the contract

Though both parties claimed that the contract was unambiguous and relied heavily on the contract language to support their positions, the parties offered wildly different interpretations of the contract’s meaning. Abboud claimed that the agreement only transferred ownership of the trademarks but not the rights to his name for all commercial purposes. JA Apparel asserted that the contract sold both the trademarks and the exclusive right to use Abboud’s name commercially in the fashion arena.

The court agreed with JA Apparel, swayed by the contract language stating that Abboud agreed to sell “all of [his] right, title and interest in …[t]he names, trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, insignias and designations…” Slip op., p. 2. The magistrate judge determined that each of these words represented a separate category of assets conveyed by Abboud; the judge construed the word “names” to refer to and include Abboud’s personal name. Slip op., pp. 9-10. Abboud did, after all, receive $65.5 million under the agreement, likely in recognition of the fact that the reputation and goodwill of JA Apparel were fully intertwined with Abboud’s own name and reputation. The court held that Abboud could use his own personal name for personal use and to make media appearances as himself or as a fashion expert, but he was forever barred from using his name to promote competing goods and services. Slip op., p.15.

As a result, Abboud was also barred from using phrases like “a new composition by designer Joseph Abboud” and “by the award-winning designer Joseph Abboud” to promote jaz, regardless of any trademark infringement issue. Slip op., p. 16.

The court also found that Abboud’s development work on jaz while he was still bound by the terms of the non-compete covenant constituted a breach of contract, but the court declined to award any damages as a result. Slip op., p. 31.

Abboud’s use would constitute trademark infringement without a valid defense

The court determined that the contract issue was decisive of the case, since a party can contract away rights to acts that may otherwise be allowed under the Lanham Act. As a result, the court largely declined to resolve the infringement claims. However, the court did indicate its opinion that Abboud’s proposed uses would infringe on JA’s trademark rights. The court stated that Abboud’s use was likely to cause consumer confusion, satisfying the Second Circuit’s Polaroid factors - strength of the marks, close proximity of goods in the marketplace and evidence of actual confusion - thus constituting trademark infringement. Slip op., p. 17 (citing Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Elecs. Corp., 287 F.2d 492, 495 (2nd Cir. 1961).

Abboud asserted a fair use defense - under Section 33(b) of the Lanham Act (15 USC Section 1115(b)), fair use allows for some confusion, so long as the term is used descriptively (not as a mark) and in good faith. The court found that Abboud’s use of his name to promote jaz would be more of a mark, identifying and advertising the source of the product, than as descriptive of the “ingredients, quality or composition” of the product. Slip op., pp. 18-19. The court could not ignore the existence of the contract Abboud signed in assessing whether or not Abboud was acting in good faith - he specifically contracted away his rights to exactly the terms he was proposing to use. Slip op., p. 19.

The high likelihood of consumer confusion posed another strike against Abboud’s fair use defense. The court wrote: “It is patently obvious that consumers seeing JA Apparel’s products, marked or advertised as ‘Joseph Abboud’ or ‘by Joseph Abboud’ would be utterly confused as to whether the ‘jaz’ products advertised ‘by designer Joseph Abboud’ were derived from the same source.” Slip op., p. 20 (citing KP permanent Make-Up Inc. v. Lasting Impression I, Inc., 543 U.S. 111, 123 (2004)).

Abboud also claimed that his use of his name constituted commercial speech, protected by the First Amendment. As with Lanham Act rights, a party can contract to give up his First Amendment rights, as Abboud arguably did here. Slip op., p. 20. Absent the contract, this may have been a more difficult issue, as the speech is truthful and probably not “inherently” misleading, though the likelihood of confusion may be “inherently” misleading.

Abboud is permanently enjoined from using his name to promote fashion

In the end, the court saw this case as a prime example of the risks inherent in building a business and its goodwill around your personal name, then selling the rights to that business to a third party: “After Abboud began designing and marketing clothes under his personal name, with great and deserved success, the name ‘Joseph Abboud’ became closely associated with a brand of clothing, and the personal nature of his name naturally lose some of its identity.” Slip op., p. 21.

JA was entitled to a sweeping permanent injunction against Abboud, barring him from using his name to market any goods or services to the consuming public. It does not bar Abboud from making personal appearances to the trade or public appearances or on TV as, “for example, a philanthropist or fashion commentator, if those appearances are unrelated to the promotion or sale of goods and services.” Slip op., p. 24.

JA sought injunctive relief to extend the noncompete obligation for the amount of time that Abboud was in breach, but the court declined to do so. Abboud did not actually compete with JA by selling clothes during that time and JA Apparel failed to show any damages from the breach.

Abboud’s counterclaims failed for lack of merit

Abboud had counterclaimed for false endorsement, false advertising, violation of his right of publicity, and for general unfair competition, because JA Apparel was using slogans such as “Do You Know Joe?” and “Hey Joseph, What Should I Wear?” in its advertising campaigns. The counterclaims were generally defeated by the fact that Abboud had given JA Apparel his written consent to use his name and the company was using the marks and names that it owned. There was no evidence that consumers believed the slogans indicated Abboud, the individual, rather than the brand name. Slip op., p. 21-22.

Contrast JA Apparel with Gucci regarding sale of a personal name

The JA Apparel case makes some uncomfortable in its willingness to uphold a contract and prohibit an individual from using his own name to promote his own business. Indeed, the sweeping injunction of JA Apparel stands out as uniquely extreme among similar cases.

In the case Gucci v. Gucci Shops, Inc., 688 F. Supp. 916 (SDNY 1988), Paolo Gucci, then chief designer of Gucci products and grandson of the company’s famous founder, Guccio Gucci, sought a declaratory judgment that he had the right to use his name in business without infringing the “Gucci” trademarks owned by the defendant or violating an agreement in which the Gucci family agreed not to use the Gucci name apart from the defendant’s business. The court found the general family agreement to be unenforceable against Paolo.

However, applying the Polaroid factors, the court did find that a likelihood of consumer confusion would exist if Paolo used the Gucci name to promote his business. CITE Nevertheless, the court refused to deny Paolo the right to use his own name, stating: “[T]o prohibit an individual from using his true family surname is to take away his identity: without it he cannot make known who he is to those who may wish to deal with him; and that is so grievous an injury that courts will avoid imposing it, if they possibly can.” 688 F. Supp. at 927 (quoting Taylor Wine Co. v. Bully Hill Vineyards Inc., 569 F.2d 731 (2nd Cir. 1978).

The Gucci court’s remedy was to prohibit Paolo from using his name as a trademark or trade name because of the likelihood of consumer confusion. However, the court did permit Paolo to use his name to identify himself as the designer of the products sold under another trademark or trade name, so long as he also provided a disclaimer that he and his products were not affiliated with the Gucci brand. Id. at 927-928.

The difference between Gucci and JA Apparel is likely the direct involvement and waiver of the designer. In contrast to Joseph Abboud, Paolo Gucci was not the original designer who sold the rights to his own name, thus receiving the benefits of that bargain. Joseph Abboud could not make a palatable claim of good faith, while Paolo Gucci likely could. As a result, the Gucci court was unwilling to impose the strict penalty against Paolo Gucci that it was willing to impose against Joseph Abboud 20 years later.

The lesson: clarity of contract provisions and intent is critical

The JA Apparel case sounds a warning for any business owner that does business under a personal name and seeks to sell rights in that business. Any contract that purports to sell rights in the business needs to carefully set forth the exact intent of the parties and the precise scope of the purchaser’s rights. If Joseph Abboud wanted to continue to use his personal name in business after his affiliation with and obligations to JA Apparel ended, that should have been negotiated and specifically set forth in the contract.

Mr. La is an Associate at Zuber & Taillieu LLP, where he specializes in commercial litigation and intellectual property law. He earned a J.D. with honors from Fordham University School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.