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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Trademark and Copyright

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, August 19, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

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MSRP
$347.00
$297.00
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Discount expires 7/30/25

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
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This CLE webinar will guide IP counsel on protecting fashion intellectual property in the metaverse. The panel will discuss the various forms of IP that can protect fashion in the digital world of virtual reality and gaming and with respect to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the challenges of enforcement. The panel will review past case law decisions and pending cases and developments that will establish new precedent for future protection and enforcement of fashion IP in the metaverse. The panel will also discuss the risks of failing to protect the brands and offer best practices for protecting brands in digital fashion.

Faculty

Howard S. Hogan
Partner, Chair Consumer and Retail Practice Group
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Mr. Hogan’s practice focuses on IP litigation and counseling, including trademark, false advertising, copyright, right of publicity, licensing, trade secret, and patent matters. He has represented various corporations and individuals in a broad range of industries, including fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, financial services, sports, entertainment, transportation, and online services. A significant portion of Mr. Hogan’s practice involves computer, Internet, and new media-related issues. Many of his matters have tested the application of traditional legal principles to the Internet and emerging technologies, such as in connection with issues of Internet jurisdiction, online contracting, and the application of trademark and copyright law to search engines, social media, mobile apps, and artificial intelligence. Mr. Hogan has been involved in cutting edge matters concerning the protection of data, and he has assisted clients with several substantial trade secrets and information security matters. He also represents clients in connection with rights of publicity, NIL rights, and the developing legal framework that governs uses of digital replicas.

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Description

Metaverse Fashion Week started in 2022 and featured luxury brands, household names, and digital-native designers. Digital fashion and NFTs have exploded onto the scene and with their expansion have come the traditional issues facing fashion brands seeking to protect their valuable intellectual property. Consumers are customizing clothing that is superimposed on their gaming avatars and brands are expanding consumer awareness by creating and offering virtual designs in games and virtual reality. With the gaming industry expected to be worth almost $237 billion in 2025, fashion brands are taking advantage and featuring and selling their designs in online games. Others have used iconic fashion brands to create and sell NFTs, leading to high profile litigations that challenge the balance between the First Amendment and a fashion brand's valuable trademark and copyright rights.

Fashion designers, brand owners, and their counsel should take steps to protect their intellectual property in the metaverse. There are multiple options for protection, including copyright, trade dress, trademark, and patent.

One of the challenges that arises is the question of ownership of digital creation and under what circumstances is the use of a brand's copyright or trademark considered "appropriation art" and when is purported "artwork" an infringement. While the brand may own a famous trademark or copyrighted work, the First Amendment may under certain circumstances permit an artist to the use of a trademark or copyrighted image as appropriation art.

Listen as our authoritative panel of IP attorneys examines the various forms of IP that can protect fashion in the digital/gaming space and the challenges of enforcement given the tensions between appropriation art and nominative fair use and established IP rights. The panel will also discuss the risks of failing to protect the brands and offer best practices for protecting brands in digital fashion.

Outline

I. Protecting digital fashion with IP laws

A. Copyright: What can you protect?

B. Trademark and trade dress in the metaverse

C. Domain names in the metaverse

D. Design patents

II. Impact of recent decisions

III. Best practices

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important issues:

  • How should counsel leverage IP laws to protect important intellectual property in the digital world?
  • What are the hurdles to protecting brands in the digital world, and what strategies can be employed to enhance protection?
  • What best practices should counsel employ to enforce IP rights in the metaverse?