Managing intellectual property rights in the digital world is a daily challenge for the legal staff of influencer, blogger, YouTuber and fashion designer Camila Coutinho, guest of the 3rd Law & Fashion Webtalk, an event promoted on June 8th by ABPI and the Fashion Law Commission of OAB-RJ (CDMD). The debate on “Digital Influencers: Legal and Behavioral Aspects in the Pandemic” included Gustavo Escobar, sectional representative of ABPI in Pernambuco, and Gisela Peres, president of the Intellectual Property Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association of Pernambuco (OAB-PE), under the mediation of Deborah Portilho and Andreia Gomes, respectively president and vice president of the CDMD. “People are not yet aware of image rights on the internet, but everything is about brands nowadays”, says Camila, Brazil’s first fashion blogger, whose website “Garotas Estúpidas” (“Stupid Girls”) was voted the fourth most influential fashion blog in the world in 2013.
Everything. The legal work coordinated by Escobar and Gisela involves the management, at the BPTO, of 25 processes concerning trademarks housed under the blog. With more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram and around 370 thousand subscribers on the YouTube channel, the Garotas Estúpidas brand, as well as the name Camila Coutinho, have been the target of undue appropriations. A court case led by Escobar and Gisela, involving ambush marketing, trademark infringement and image rights resulted in the search and seizure of thousands of products and printed materials with the usurped brand.
The contractual management of the blogger’s trademarks leads to thorough management of trade-dress including image rights, names, distinctive signs, among others. According to Escobar, in order to hedge the protection of rights, both related to ethical issues and intellectual property, it was necessary to develop specific clauses in contracts, including restrictions for reposts, the obligation of website advertisers to make a detailed briefing of the contents and the duty to inform if there is an advertising campaign involved, among others.
You can watch this event on the ABPI’ YouTube Channel.
