Roxanne Peters

Intellectual Property Manager
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Roxanne Peters is Intellectual Property Manager, Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Roxanne has 14 years experience in the cultural heritage sector, specialising in IP and content management, digitisation and licensing. Her academic background is in fashion design history and visual culture. She holds a postgraduate qualification in UK, EU and US Copyright Law and Related Rights, Kings College, London.

She is the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Intellectual Property Manager, advising staff on working practically with creators and designers to best manage and provide access to the Museum's collections. Roxanne authored the Europeana Fashion Project's intellectual property guidelines, designed to support project partners when publishing fashion content online. She is an active member of the UK Museum's IP Network and has represented the V&A at UK government consultations relating to the future of intellectual property for the creative industries.

Abstract

Fashion and IP: Creator, Curator, Consumer- Behind the scenes at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

As one of the world’s leading creative industries, the fashion industry has seen a transition from garments serving as merely social and cultural functions to an expression of art and aesthetics. The subjective nature of fashion means that for cultural heritage organisations who may acquire collections as ‘works of art’, this perception of fashion is difficult to interpret in a legal sense. Fashion is protected by several types of intellectual property such as trademarks and design rights. However these focus more on the branding and functional aspects of fashion, with less emphasis on the creative value copyright protects for works of art. As fashion does not fit neatly into one category and for those managing and providing access to fashion collections, it is often challenging to understand nuances in the law.

The cultural heritage sector has seen a shift from curating fashion solely in a physical space, to exploring new and innovative ways to engage audiences virtually. This not only presents financial and operational challenges for organisations but knowing when to seek permission to use a fashion garment and who to ask is not always straightforward. Recent V&A groundbreaking shows Hollywood Costume, David Bowie is and Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty all featured iconic fashion pieces and costumes where the success in creating an immersive experience hinges on careful negotiations and risk management of IP.

This talk aims to explore the V&A’s approach to managing one it’s most diverse and inspirational collections; focusing on how the V&A as a custodian of other creator’s works defines ‘fashion’ and works practically to ensure that the collections are best managed and accessed whilst being mindful of the legal limitations.