The UIA 2014 Congress Main Theme

De Fabio Moretti, Président du groupe de travail sur le droit de la mode

The UIA 2014 Congress Main Theme is “Protecting Creativity: The Law of Art, Fashion and Design.”

On October 30 the theme will be discussed in the presence of important business players in those fields.  It will be a unique occasion for lawyers to listen to and understand the vision of the Art, Design and Fashion industries directly from industry leaders and designers and to hear their opinions about the protection of creativity and about the role of lawyers. The Superintendent of the Museums of Florence will introduce the theme.

A special focus will be placed on efforts to reclaim art and cultural heritage lost as a result of wartime and other looting with presentations of a qualified consultant to the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and by a Senior Vice President and International Director of Restitution at Christie’s. A representative of the Italian Association of Industrial Design will then talk about whether laws go far enough to protect the creative process in Design. Finally the Director of the Roberto Capucci Foundation and the CEO of Pitti Imagine will talk about the fashion industry as a global business and the need to protect its creative R&D investments.

The Main Theme will be also developed with a more legal/technical approach in the course of the following day, in a full day session organized by the UIA Art Law, the IP Law and the Fashion Law Commissions, where qualified speakers and lawyers from all over the world will develop the concept of protection of Art, Design and Fashion in a globalized world.

The choice of the Main Theme has been influenced by the City where the Congress takes place, Florence, and in general by the Country hosting it: Italy. Italy and Florence are in fact well known particularly for their historic and artistic wealth and heritage, among the richest in the world, for the creativity of their designers and also for being important players in the fashion industry, nowadays considered one significant component of the driving factors of world economic growth.

Attending the U.I.A. Congress in Florence and in particular the Main Theme sessions will be a unique place for international lawyers to get closer to the creativity processes in Art, Design and Fashion. It will also be the best occasion to understand the views of the industries concerned, as well as the available legal tools to protect creativity from an international perspective.