HEMLINES & HOLDINGS
Where brand protection meets the culture that builds brands.
This is where I write about the legal questions behind the creative decisions: naming a product line, protecting a collaboration, understanding what a trademark registration actually gives you (and what it doesn’t). Expect sharp takes, practical guidance, and the occasional deep cut on IP issues most founders don’t see coming.
The EU Has Banned the Destruction of Unsold Fashion. Your License Agreement May Hold A Key Exception.
Most fashion license agreements include a standard clause on leftover inventory, often requiring it to be sold within 90 days or destroyed with a destruction certificate.
On July 19, 2026, the EU banned large companies from destroying unsold apparel, a change that can directly affect licensing clauses and disposal practices.
New on the Cloth & Code Legal blog: what this means for brands licensing into the EU, including clarified de-branding rules (such as a seam-ripped label counting as de-branding, while a hangtag over a logo does not), and how your disposal figures can be made public through your licensee's public reports.
“Fashion Is Art,” Says The Met. The Copyright Act Disagrees.
The Met says fashion is art. The Copyright Act, the actual federal statute that decides what gets protected, has been saying something very different since 1976.
And it has not changed its mind.
