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Caribbean Fashion Industry
Daneia Ashpole Executive Assistant to the Minister of National Security, Jamaica Among the diverse sectors encapsulated in the now well-promoted creative industries is the fashion industry. Concerned with the production of apparel, footwear and accessories, the fashion industry is estimated to be worth US$1,306 billion, accounting for approximately 2.1% of the global gross domestic product (Keymeulen, 2011). In recent years the fashion industry (and the wider creative industries) has gained widespread traction as it pertains to development policy across the Caribbean region. This is due, in large part, to the contraction of other traditional sectors as a result of the global economic downturn, on the one hand, and to the resilient nature of these industries even in the hardest of times, on the other. Consequently, there has been a shift towards more non-traditional sectors to diversify the economies of the region, and in respect of the latter, a classic example of resilience may be found within the fashion industry itself where statistics show that the industry grew in worth from US$900 billion at the peak of the recession in 2008 to over US 1000 billion in 2012 (Raustiala, 2006). During this time, traditional industries such as agriculture and manufacturing saw minimal growth and in some cases even experienced stagnation or negative growth. Like all other aspects of the creative industries, creativity and fresh new innovations stand at the epicenter of the fashion industry. However, the seasonal cycle of fashion calls for these ideas and elements of creativity to be produced even at a more rapid pace than in most of the other industries. In the European market-widely considered the mecca of fashion-these ideas or elements of creativity are ?ercely protected by intellectual property rights. These rights can manifest in various forms such as, trademark, copyright, patents, trade secret and business models safeguard, or geographical indicators and traditional knowledge protection, and can be used solely or cumulatively to protect the particular product. The reason for this aggressive protection stems from the argument that copying sti?es creativity and reduces the incentive for the production of new ideas. scholars refer to as the “piracy paradox”( Raustiala, 2006) . In their article entitled the “Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design” Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman refer to the fashion industry as an anomaly within the creative industries as it pertains to intellectual property. The writers contend that despite the low level of protection for articles of fashion and the rampant cases of copying, the industry remains vibrant (Ellis, 2010). They further highlight that while copying is thought to sti?e innovation in other industries, design copying is often celebrated as paying ‘homage’ to the original (Raustiala, 2006), and in some cases may make the original more desirable (Ellis, 2010). This viewpoint may seem to hold credibility when one considers the North American fashion market which accounts for approximately $352 billion of the overall fashion industry, representing the second largest market in the industry after Europe, of course, which accounts for $443 billion (Ellis, 2010). Given the tremendous success of \?H ??X\??] ?]?[? ?] Z\?? ??[?? ?Y]??]X^H?H???\?[?? ? H?\?X??X[??\?[?[? \? ?H[?X?Y[?? ?X?[?[\??\? ?Z]Y???\? ?X???[? H?\?X??X[???^ H ?[][??\?] ?Y[??\?[?[?[?[X? X[ ??\? H ?Y? ?^ ?]][?\?\??[ H [?\?]?[?Y ?[??[XZX?H??^[\K?\?[?\?Y?\??]?H?? Y]?Y[?X?H ??\][^?H? H8?'??[??[XZX?x?'H???? ?X?H[???] ?Y[? H\?X\??^?[[??H ?X?\? ?? ?[? H?\?[?[? \? ?K??[H H?^ \??] ?Y[??\?[?[? ?? ?\??? HZ[H? \?\?X?K H\??[Y[??\? ?[? ? H ?[?X[?? H ?Y?[??[??[?? \?H ?? X?]]?H ?X???[??\][^?[??? H\ X[? ??]]X???&HYY?H ?\??[XZX?x?&\?\?Z[??? ??\?X?Y]?Y [?\?[[Y\?[??[?[?\?;? Y[ ???H?\?X??X[??\?[?[? \? ?H\?XYH \? ?X[?] ?????\?Y?\?? ???H?\?[?\??\??[??\??H{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