Manish Malhotra's copyright act

By Prithwish Ganguly / DNA

Mumbai: Despite the booming growth in the Indian fashion industry, it has been criticised for lack of discipline. One issue that continues to haunt the industry is plagiarism. To fight this issue, one of the senior fashion designers in the country, Manish Malhotra, has come forward. Manish is looking to unite the entire Indian fashion industry against this vice for the first time. He is set to get a copyright for his creations and will soon be asking other designers to follow suit.

“Lifting someone’s design is like theft and it could happen to anyone. I urge my industry colleagues to not take it lightly. I have been gravely hurt by this because there is no authority in our industry that can keep a check and punish designers who are lifting designs. A designer thrives on his or her signature and if that’s stolen, how will a designer earn money?” Manish asks.

He adds, “We need a body that can keep constant vigil on who is replicating whose designs. But most importantly, I feel a copyright is the way forward for the industry. I’m going to get copyrights of all my designs and my signature. I will talk to every designer I know and ask them to do the same. Once we have rights, we can take the guilty to court. An example needs to be set so that others don’t repeat the crime.”

On the career front, Manish is set to be a show-stopper for a fashion show in Punjab along with cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Manish is also, for the first time, set to make Sri Lanka’s cricket team captain Kumar Sangakkara walk the ramp for him at this year’s IIFA that is being held in Colombo.

“It is a great delight to have Sangakkara to walk for me. He has a great face and personality and I’m sure my clothes will suit him,” ends Manish.