The Piracy Paradox by James Surowiecki - Essay Example

The article ‘The Piracy Paradox’ by James Surowiecki is highly interesting and throws a new insight into the meaning of piracy in the field of fashion. According to the article, while normally the piracy of goods and services adversely affects the original promoters and creators, the imitation of fashion products is known to facilitate the creativity and popularity of the promoters through pirated lines of the current fashion trend. The author asserts that while the concept of copyrights and patents are important for businesses to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals, such criteria are irrelevant for the fashion industry which seems to thrive on imitations and piracy of fashion designs.

Though fashion designers may be annoyed by the copying of their designs and would like to prevent the practice in the gray market, it cannot be denied that the pirated version of those designs makes it affordable for the general public. This not only serves to make those designers more popular but the process also helps them indirectly to gain financially because their niche clientele is still more willing to pay premium prices for the original products!

Another pertinent factor is that the cheap counterfeit promotes awareness of the changing habits and tastes of the public. The dissatisfaction of the public with the current trends, motivates the fashion designers to be more creative and original in their new fashion line and meet the expectation of the consumers. As the article says, it means ‘there is more innovation, more competition and probably more sales than there otherwise would be’.

Again, the fashion industry is the only field where imitation has promoted brisk development of the industry instead of adversely affecting its revenues and imagination. It is a well-known fact that designer fashion product line basically caters to a select segment of society who do not mind paying exorbitant prices for original and unique products. Piracy of the designer fashion products brings goods to the public which serves as a barometer for the changing trends in fashion. Public opinion becomes the main propeller for the designer to be more innovative to keep ahead of their rivals in the same field.

Therefore, to keep the competitive edge, the brands must incorporate changes that are made imperative by the changing trends in fashion through their belief in a creative approach. ‘The piracy paradox’ thus becomes the most relevant factor that encourages creativity in the fashion industry and helps maintain healthy growth. Read More