The case relates to internet fashion site Firstview.com, and its operator, US firm ViewFinder, which was sued in the French courts by some of the world’s leading fashion designers.
The designers claimed that by publishing images of their products over the internet without permission, the website was in breach of their copyright in their designs and brand names. In 2001 the High Court in Paris agreed, finding that by offering to sell access to these images, ViewFinder was indeed in breach of copyright.
The High Court awarded damages of around £46,000 plus interest to the designers, who then turned to the US courts to enforce the award.
However, according to Law.com, their action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has proved to be unsuccessful.
Judge Gerard Lynch, says the Law.com report, found that the enforcement action would be contrary to the First Amendment right of free speech.
"Fashion shows are a matter of great public interest, for artistic as well as commercial purposes," he said. "These shows are open to the public, including the press - indeed, defendant's employees and agents were able to take the photographs at issue because they were given access by invitation.”
He found that photos were covered by the First Amendment, because “A picture, as the cliché would have it, is worth a thousand words, and the defendant's decision to forgo an effort to describe the designers' creations verbally in favour of a more efficient visual presentation does not defeat protection".
