AI in Fashion: Legal Risks and How Brands Can Protect Their Designs

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the fashion industry, offering unprecedented opportunities in design, marketing, and customer experience. From AI-generated virtual models to predictive trend analysis, brands are leveraging AI to push creative boundaries and streamline operations. However, alongside these innovations come legal and regulatory challenges. Protecting intellectual property, ensuring compliance with emerging AI laws, and maintaining ethical AI practices are critical for brands integrating AI into their strategies.

Intellectual Property and AI-Generated Designs

One of the most pressing legal concerns for fashion brands using AI is intellectual property (IP) protection. AI tools can generate designs inspired by vast datasets, often pulling from existing fashion collections. This raises complex questions about ownership: who holds the rights to an AI-created design? If an AI model generates a piece similar to an existing trademarked pattern, does this constitute infringement? 

Recent legal cases, such as a dispute over Christian Louboutin’s distinctive red-soled shoes, highlight the increasing role of AI in IP litigation. Courts are beginning to recognise AI-generated evidence, but concerns over accuracy and reliability remain a challenge.

Another emerging issue is the fast fashion industry's use of AI to rapidly identify and replicate trending designs. Some brands use AI-driven tools to analyse and reproduce high-fashion concepts at scale, potentially infringing on designers’ rights. This practice not only raises legal risks but also ethical concerns regarding the protection of original creative works.

AI in Customer Experience and Privacy Considerations

AI is revolutionising the customer experience in fashion, enabling virtual try-ons, personalised shopping recommendations, and AI-driven customer support. However, these innovations rely heavily on data collection, including biometric information in some cases. Brands must apply stringent data protection laws, such as the GDPR, to ensure compliance. Transparency in how AI processes personal data is key to maintaining consumer trust and avoiding regulatory penalties.

The EU AI Act is set to impose additional transparency obligations, particularly around AI-generated imagery and biometric data usage. For instance, virtual try-on tools that categorise users based on facial recognition or body scans may be subject to heightened scrutiny under this legislation. Brands must ensure that AI-powered personalisation tools align with both consumer rights and data protection frameworks.

Compliance with AI Regulations

As AI becomes a staple in fashion, regulatory bodies are tightening controls to ensure ethical AI usage. The EU AI Act, for example, introduces a risk-based framework requiring brands to disclose AI-generated content, particularly where deepfakes or AI-enhanced visuals are used in marketing. This means that brands using AI for digital imagery must clearly indicate which images have been AI-generated to prevent consumer deception.

Fashion brands also need to consider compliance obligations when working with third-party AI providers. Vendor agreements should address AI transparency, bias mitigation, and data protection to ensure that AI systems meet evolving regulatory standards. Conducting thorough audits of AI-generated content and data usage can help brands stay ahead of compliance risks.

Protecting Brand Integrity in an AI-Driven Industry

To ensure responsible use of AI in the fashion industry, companies should implement several key measures. First, securing intellectual property (IP) safeguards, such as trademarks, copyrights, and patents, is essential for AI-generated designs while actively monitoring for potential infringements. Transparency is also crucial, with businesses needing to clearly disclose AI-generated content in advertising and product visuals to comply with consumer protection laws. Strengthening data protection policies is another critical step, ensuring that AI-driven personalisation tools adhere to GDPR and other privacy regulations. Finally, establishing ethical AI guidelines through internal policies will help govern the use of AI in fashion design, marketing, and customer engagement.

How Can Gerrish Legal Help?

Gerrish Legal is a dynamic digital law firm. We pride ourselves on giving high-quality and expert legal advice to our valued clients. We specialise in many aspects of digital law such as GDPR, data privacy, digital and technology law, commercial law, and intellectual property. 

We give companies the support they need to successfully and confidently run their businesses whilst complying with legal regulations without the burdens of keeping up with ever-changing digital requirements. 

We are here to help you, get in contact with us today for more information.