FASHION LAW

Course Description
The “Fashion Law” course aims at providing the participant with the most updated practical information, benchmarks and field expertise concerning the most relevant aspects involving legal frameworks and perspective inside fashion and luxury companies.
Starting with an introduction to the industry, from the main business models, to industry segmentation and core processes, the course will focus on all the main stages of the fashion lifecycle, from the concept design, up to the licensing and client relationship management, in order to promote the knowledge of processes, best practices, real cases studies, applied frameworks to the fashion and luxury industries, thanks to a multidisciplinary faculty composed of academics, practitioners and industry professionals.

Partnerships
The ‘Fashion Law’ course is carried out by the Milano Fashion Institute Faculty, composed of academics and practitioners from law, fashion design and fashion business backgrounds, in collaboration with leading legal office professionals as well as fashion & luxury companies’ managers and lawyers. A multidisciplinary team, for granting the deepest understanding of fashion law practices, and enhancing participants’ opportunities as insiders.

Educational goals
The “Fashion Law” course is designed for:
- Graduates, students and practitioners in law, who want to get notions and fundamental knowledge concerning fashion and luxury businesses from a legal perspective.
- Graduates and students in business and economics, who want to understand the most relevant legal issues inside a fashion & luxury company, in order to acquire transversal and multi-disciplinary competences, that will permit them to properly manage core processes, particularly in small and medium fashion companies.

At the end of the course, participant will have learnt how to deal with the complexity of fashion and luxury companies processes, how to properly manage and apply the relevant rules and business practices, from contracts and agreements to the management of trademarks and other IPRs, as well as how to properly relate and add value within relations with different company stakeholders (licensing processes, value chain, etc).

Topics covered in the course alternate between case study discussions, meetings with managers and other industry representatives, classroom activities, and project work. At the end of the course, career guidance is provided to students aiming to work in the industry and a shared evaluation of business ideas with participants who want to start an entrepreneurial venture. The course awards an official MFI certificate. The topics covered are:

Fashion Processes & Business Models
The course aims to introduce students to the main business models that characterize the fashion system, the underlying business logic, and the different positioning choices and strategies, up to their impact on the configuration of characteristic processes. The most current and relevant trends in the sector will also be introduced, with a focus on the fashion and luxury segments.

Fashion IP Processes 
This course will look at the different intellectual property rights that can be used to protect products in the fashion industry. Analyzing requirements and procedures, the course will look at how and under what conditions to obtain these rights.

Fashion Design 
The course aims at delving into the different phases of the development process of a fashion collection, identifying both the activities related to the organization and management of the creative processes and to the planning of the architecture of the collection according to corporate and market constraints, with a focus on the different design processes adopted: research, scenario, and architecture of the collection, final development.

Fashion Negotiation 
License agreements are among the most effective tools to exploit the value of brands and other forms of intellectual property. Consequently, the course will analyze how to negotiate a license agreement, focusing on the pros and cons of the most frequently used clauses.

Fashion Pipeline & Counterfeiting
The course focuses on ways to prevent and limit counterfeiting, working on the production-distribution chain as well as on communication via the Internet. At the same time, the course also provides an overview of the most recent regulatory developments introduced to facilitate IP-companies, including, for example, the favorable tax regime known as the 'patent box'.

Field project: fashion mock trial and fashion critical analysis 
The course will be attended by many guests and will conclude with a mock trial. 
Through an interdisciplinary approach, the analysis projects will be based on a wide range of topics: from competition policy to the protection of intellectual property, thanks to lawyers and fashion professionals (designers, photographers, entrepreneurs) with significant experience from both academic and professional perspectives.
Students will be able to study the principles of design contracts, theories of consumer consent, communication design, intellectual property, franchise law, real estate, commercial law, as well as fashion show/presentation law (covering issues in general, design rights, and labor law) and supply chain law (with a focus on sustainable fashion).

Nicola Guerini 
is Director-General of Milano Fashion Institute. He specializes in the fields of business strategy, entrepreneurship, and business planning and in the management of fashion companies, for which he is currently involved in graduate courses at Bocconi University and other university institutions.
His most recent publications include: N. Guerini "Gli orizzonti della moda. Trasformazioni e sfide del Made in Italy' (Milano Produttiva, Milan Chamber of Commerce, 2017).
He is a consultant for law firms and Italian and international companies in the fashion, luxury, and lifestyle sectors, with a focus on start-up projects. He is currently involved in international cooperation projects for government agencies and government educational institutions.
He is an honorary advisor of the Cámara Paraguaya de Diseño y Innovación del Paraguay and a member of the Board of Panelists of Start-Up Initiative, Fashion & Design Tech, of Intesa San Paolo. In 2017, he received the medal of merit for the development of Italian-Latin American cooperation programs from the intergovernmental organization IILA, Republic of Italy, active in the field of cultural, scientific, and development cooperation.



Maria Lillà Montagnani 
Associate Professor - Bocconi University Associate Professor in the Department of Legal Studies, teaches Intellectual Property Law at ACME (Economics and Management of Art, Communication, and Culture) and Marketing Law at MM (Marketing Management). She recently published the book: 'Copyright in the Digital Age: The Online Distribution of Intellectual Works, Giuffre 2012'. Her current research interest is in copyright and architecture. Adjunct lecturer at Milano Fashion Institute.

Aurelio Assenza
Aurelio graduated with a law degree from Universita’ Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in 2007. Since that time he has been a lecturer at Bocconi on ‘Legal Issues in Marketing’ and ‘Advanced Intellectual Property Law.’ Since 2016 Aurelio is a Partner of the firm, which he joined in October 2007. He has been a member of the Milan Bar since 2010. Aurelio has published in the areas of Intellectual Property and competition Law. Contract Professor at Milano Fashion Institute.

Why to take this course
The course is well suited for law graduate students, law practitioners, young managers, professionals and young entrepreneurs that are willing to deal with the challenges of the fashion businesses. It’s an excellent opportunity for understanding the most current legal issues and consequent best practices in the industry, that can involve different professional figures: from lawyers, to licensing managers, product managers, retail managers.

Studying at MFI represents a unique opportunity on a professional and personal level. On a professional level, because of the unique academic and field expertise consolidated over the decades: in particular, the exclusive focus on the fashion and luxury sectors that allows students to meet professionals, managers and lawyers from the sector. The aforementioned elements allow the student to experience the real "fashion system" together with our teachers; an opportunity that is hardly possible in other generalist training contexts which are often disconnected from the business world.

The Fashion Law course is also unique in a European context since it includes two subject areas: FASHION MANAGEMENT, to learn about the processes and how fashion companies work, together with the more contemporary themes of FASHION LAW.

On a personal level, thanks to the new 2021 campus, with modern and design classrooms, social spaces, and a truly international community, studying Fashion Law at MFI allows you to experience both an educational and social life experience.

Our short course in "FASHION LAW - Legal knowledge and practice for fashion" is aimed at junior and professionals who want to implement their occupational skills and competence in relation to the companies of the fashion and luxury system.

Work experience within the industry is not a mandatory requirement, even if it will be considered positively during the selection process.

The multidisciplinary background of the students plays and promotes the learning processes of the typical business environments.

Selection process
The selection process will be based on the evaluation of the CV and the application form.
The selection process takes place throughout the opening period of the inscriptions, in separate sessions of selection. The candidates may submit the Application Form by: 21 June, 2024.

Application
To apply for admission, the candidate must:
1. Fill the online application form, available here
2. Attach the CV in European format in the online application form, available here
After receiving the documents, Milano Fashion Institute will inform the applicant on the selection final result (admission or non admission).

dmission Requirements
In order to apply for the admission to the course, the candidate must be currently enrolled at a Bachelor of Art/Science course (Law, Business Administration) or have a degree equal to or higher than a Bachelor.
Young entrepreneurs, recent graduates with three-year degree o specialist degree, and graduates from design schools and faculties, business and economics, marketing and communication,  engineering,  architecture, languages, law, humanities.

Financial commitment
The participants are required to have a significant commitment both personally and financially.
The total cost amounts to € 2.600, payable as follows:
1st installment > 1.300 € on the acceptance of the application;
2nd installment > 1.300 € by 28 June, 2024.
Costs include a part of the study material and the use of facilities of the Institute.
Financial aid are provided for Masters students Milano Fashion Institute and Alumni Milano Fashion Institute. For information: info@milanofashioninstitute.it

Withdrawal
1. The first installment is non-refundable. The participant is allowed to withdraw, up to the eighth calendar day preceding the starting date of the course, by submitting a letter (priority mail service) to the registered address of the Milano Fashion Institute, anticipated in any case, by fax and / or e-mail; if so, the participant may request the return of fees paid, except for the first installment.

2. If the member, with methods described in the previous article, demonstrated an intention not to participate at a later date, that does not give notice and is not present in class, he/she will not be entitled to any refund and must pay the full fee bearing in mind that he/she could within a (calendar) year from the starting date of the Course, attend the next edition of the Course (if applicable) or another MFI Course, upon payment of price adjustment.