Can fashion designers sell their designs to companies with no ties afterwards?

Hi Eimee,

The answer is YES. There are many ways to do this, but you can definitely sell your design and all rights to your design to a company. You can also structure the business arrangement where you sell the design and limited rights (i.e. it can be used for two seasons or one year). To Michelle's point above, you would need a legal contract written up, but the company buying the design should handle this. You would just want to review the details of the contract carefully, and consider having a lawyer review it.

I worked in the fashion industry and owned my own clothing company for 7 years. I hope this answer helps.

Hello, Eimee D. I thought I would address this question since it's been posted for about a month now.

In any business it can be a case by case situation. This sounds like a question for someone who knows the law. Here is one website you can start out with : https://www.newmediarights.org/frequently_asked_questions_about_copyright_law_book

Another site that may be useful is :

http://fashion.law/

They have a link to their Blog on their site so that may help also.

Also, remember that TV shows and movies are sometimes based on people's true experiences but a lot of times are indeed creative and fictionalized. With some research, I am sure you will find the answer to your interesting question.

Best wishes to you !