Should knock-offs be knocked off?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… or is it? A New York Times article from earlier this week says that Council of Fashion Designers of America is lobbying Congress to extend copyright laws to protect the design, details and fit of clothes. (Currently, copyright law only protects logos and original prints. It also outlaws counterfeit goods, which infringe upon an already registered trademark or falsely claim to be real products).

A press release from the CFDA reveals that the trade association is fighting against what it calls "design piracy," which it defines as the "prevalent practice of enterprises that seek profits from the inventions of others by producing copies of an original design under a different label." These copies usually "devalue" the original design because of their poor quality and rapid speed to market, the CFDA states.

A number of fashion designers, including Narciso Rodriguez, Marc Bouwer and Nicole Miller, have all supported the Act, making public appearances and speeches in our Nation's capitol to confirm their commitment, the press release says.

The enactment of the Design Piracy Prohibition Act could have major consequences for apparel retailers, in my opinion. Forever 21, Zara, Strawberry and H&M base their business models on "fast fashion," or the ability to mimic the hottest looks on the runway and get them in stores as soon as possible. Zara, a Spanish retailer with a handful of stores in the United States, claims it is able to turn around designs "from drawing board to store shelf in just two weeks," according to a Business Week piece.

This kind of instant access to fashion makes these retailers popular destinations for the catwalk savvy. As well as being purveyors of "fast fashion," H&M and Strawberry are also havens for "cheap chic" clothing, or cute, stylish items that won't break the budget.

As the end of the Times article suggests, customers demand and expect cheap, fashionable items from retailers. They want the look of luxury for less.

Based on the throngs of teens and young adults at Forever 21, I really doubt they care about the "poor" quality of the $30 wrap dress they are buying, especially if it's likely to be out of style next season. I would say they care even less, in fact they might even think it's cooler, that the same dress might look almost exactly like something Diane vonFurstenburg designed.

If the Design Piracy Act is implemented, there's a chance that fashion at these stores could suffer… because where is the line drawn? Are retailers suddenly not allowed to sell skinny jeans, because they are too close to the fit of the jeans that appeared on the Sass & Bide runway a few seasons ago? How close does the print on an H&M blouse have to be to Anna Sui's before it is pulled off the racks?

The fact is that mainstream clothing retailers have always looked to the runway for fashion inspiration. Successful apparel stores sell items that, if they are not nearly directly copied in fit, shape or design from the catwalks, are least in the ballpark of what's en vogue.

From a consumer standpoint, some luxury labels and products cannot be imitated—particularly from iconic brands like Coach and Chanel, which never go out of style. And for the most part, consumers are willing to pay the price in exchange for the quality of these classic high-end names.

But fashion is fickle, and many designs come and go. Why pay $1200 at Neiman Marcus for the look, when you can go to H&M, get something of lesser quality, and pay $75? When that "must-have" item is sitting at the back of my closet next season, I'll be really happy I paid a lot less.