It is encouraging to see that fashion labels are increasingly exercising their power to prevent other brands and high street retailers from infringing their intellectual property and design rights.

Recently, Chloe exercised its rights over copycat Topshop which it accused of copying on of its dresses (Drapers July 28), and Jimmy Choo prevented Oasis and Jane Shilton from selling designs alleged to be copies. However, price that alleged ‘copycats' are forced to pay is often pitifully small with Topshop having to pay only £12,000. The benefits to Topshop greatly exceed this token amount.

Copies of designer dresses at knock-down prices are easy profits if allowed, because they are unfairly coat-tailing off other people's investment. Greater deterrents need to be in place to prevent copycat activity becoming more widespread.

Marks & Spencer, New Look and Primark have all had to remove stock because of alleged intellectual property infringement and Dunnes Stores is now being taken to court by Mosaic Fashions for the same reasons.

Fortunately, there are an increasing number of weapons available to bring copycats to court, such as accepted forms of market research, brand valuation techniques and case precedents such as this Chloe vs Topshop case or the L'Oréal vs Bellure at which I was an expert witness.

The implications of these developments for designers, both haut-couture and on the high street, are positive and significant. Retailers which prey on the imagination of others could now easily find this backfires.