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HR 2196 111th Congress House

Design Piracy Prohibition Act

Official title: To amend title 17, United States Code, to extend protection to fashion design, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 30, 2009 See on congress.gov
Commerce Civil actions and liabilityFraud offenses and financial crimesGovernment information and archivesIntellectual property
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Marine and inland water transportationProduct development and innovation
This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 30, 2009
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Apr 30, 2009
Introduced in House
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 Latest action April 30, 2009

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Design Piracy Prohibition Act - Extends copyright protection to fashion designs. Includes as protected items clothing, handbags, duffel bags, tote bags, and eyeglass frames. Excludes from such protection designs embodied in a useful article made public by the designer more than six months before the registration of copyright application. Prohibits considering certain factors in determining the originality of a fashion design. Sets the term of protection at three years.

Declares that it is not infringement to make, have made, import, sell, or distribute any article which was created without reasonable grounds to know that design protection is claimed.

Prohibits deeming a fashion design to have been copied from a protected design if it: (1) is original and not closely and substantially similar in overall visual appearance to a protected design; (2) merely reflects a trend; or (3) is the result of independent creation.

Prohibits deeming a vessel hull design to have been copied from a protected design if it is original and not substantially similar in appearance to a protected design.

Applies the doctrines of secondary infringement or secondary liability to actions related to original designs.

Requires that applications for design registration be made within two years after the design is made public for vessel hulls and within six months after the design is made public for fashion designs. (Current law sets such a time limit at two years for designs in general.)

Increases allowable damage awards for infringement of original designs and for false representation.

Requires the Register of Copyrights to establish and maintain an electronically searchable fashion design database available to the public without charge.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2196: Design Piracy Prohibition Act. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-2196/
MLA
"H.R. 2196: Design Piracy Prohibition Act." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-2196/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2196, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-2196/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2196: Design Piracy Prohibition Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-2196/)
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