Please join Kelley Drye & Warren LLP for a complimentary full-day seminar on Thursday, January 22, 2015, as we discuss the latest legal and regulatory issues facing executives and in-house counsel in the fashion and retail sectors. Kelley Drye lawyers, executives from some of the world’s top fashion companies, regulators and others will discuss hot button issues impacting the industry including advertising, customs and trade, employment, government relations, intellectual property, and privacy.

If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please contact infashion@kelleydrye.com.

Summit Highlights:

Risky Business: The New Reality of Supply Chain Management

Any company that imports or exports products or services is subject to an increasing array of federal regulations that, if violated, can mean costly penalties. Kelley Drye International Trade partner Larry Lasoff will be joined by Julia Hughes, President of the United States Fashion Industry Association; Charlie Ross, Head of International Marketing and Sustainability at Saga Furs and President of Total Trends International; and Mil Niepold, Founder of Mara Partners, for a discussion of emerging issues in supply chain compliance, including what federal agency rules are a top priority for enforcement in the fashion/retail sector, best practices in implementing a supply chain compliance program and what social obligations to consider when it comes to protecting your brand reputation and consumer loyalty.

First Sale Customs Valuation: Legally Lowering the Landed Costs of Goods

Each year, millions of dollars are paid in Customs duties unnecessarily because importers fail to take advantage of the “First Sale Rule,” a legal route to reduce duty liability. Importers typically pay Customs duties on the price paid to their vendors. With the “First Sale Rule,” an importer declares the value of its merchandise based on the first sale of a multi-tier transaction and therefore lowers its duty exposure. Kelley Drye will walk importers through the process and how importers can reduce their duty liability by implementing a “first sale” program.

Around the World in 45 Minutes: Global Intellectual Property Strategies

It’s never too early to consider intellectual property strategies in target markets when developing a product for an international rollout. Adding specific design elements could have significant implications for intellectual property rights. A panel of international counsel will provide insights on how to best protect a hypothetical product in their respective markets. The panel will be moderated by Anna Dalla Val, the Vice President of Intellectual Property for Ralph Lauren Corporation; and will include Andrea Calvaruso, the Chair of Kelley Drye’s Trademark and Copyright practice; Pier Luigi Roncaglia and Riccardo Facchin, Managing Partner and Associate at Studio Legale SIB based in Italy and China, respectively; and Rachael Barber, partner at Pennington Manches in the United Kingdom.

Minding the Store: Protecting and Defending Your Trade Secrets

Sensitive business information such as sales data, customized software, customer information and research and development are the lifeblood of companies in the fashion and retail industries. But an increasingly mobile workforce and the easy portability of such information creates the potential for significant loss, with the cost of proprietary information loss estimated at $55 billion annually. Kelley Drye Litigation partners Robert Steiner and David Zalman will discuss the complex challenges companies face in identifying their vulnerabilities, designing effective security and confidentiality policies and drafting enforceable agreements to protect trade secrets, with a particular focus on the fashion and retail sector.

.BEAUTY is in the Eye of the Beholder: The First Year of the gTLD Program

The new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program has been underway for more than a year, with new gTLDs such as .clothing, .fashion and .luxury available for registrants. Opinions differ regarding whether the new regime creates new opportunities or additional headaches, but for big name brands the new landscape means they must pay increased attention to monitoring and enforcing their rights. Kelley Drye will moderate a panel featuring Mary Wong, the Senior Policy Director at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN), and Kathryne Badura, Advisor, External Relations – Enforcement, for the International Trademark Association (INTA). They will discuss the first round of the new gTLD launches, how companies are integrating it into their branding and trademark strategies, and what the future holds for the program.

Crimes Of Fashion: From The Red Carpet To The Courthouse Steps

The entertainment and fashion industries have long had a symbiotic relationship, as exemplified by the perennial award season question, “Who are you wearing?” A good pairing between the two industries can result in a brand’s recognition and marketing success, while some interactions result in litigation. The session will review some partnerships that have had significant impacts not only on fashion, but popular culture, as well as some cautionary tales which may be cause for both concern and amusement.

Watching the Clock: Wage and Hour Risks in the Fashion and Retail Industry

Wage and hour lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have risen over 400 percent since 2000 and there’s no sign of a slowdown of this pace. Whether it’s store managers contesting their “exempt” status or another intern class action, the fashion and retail sectors are particularly vulnerable targets. Kelley Drye Labor and Employment practice chair Barbara Hoey and partner Mark Konkel will discuss the risks faced by retailers in this era of skyrocketing litigation, what the future may hold and how to avoid being on the receiving end of a wage and hour class action.

View From Capitol Hill: What to Expect from the Newly Elected Congress and the Last Years of the Obama Administration

Kelley Drye Government Relations Co-Chair Paul Rosenthal will look ahead to the 114th Congress with an overview of recent changes to key House and Senate committees and a review of key policy issues facing the President and the Congress – including international trade, privacy and data security, taxes, immigration and energy.

Retailer Data Breaches: The “Lessons Learned” Tool Kit

It’s not a matter of if a retailer will become a data breach victim, but when. Dana Rosenfeld, chair of Kelley Drye’s Privacy and Information Security practice, will lead a panel including Steve Surdu, a forensic security incident response expert; and Laura Riposo VanDruff, Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, who will discuss the top factors that often lead to massive data breaches, strategies to prevent and optimally address a data breach when one occurs, and tips to best position the company when it finds itself the focus of regulatory investigations and lawsuits as a result of the breach.

The New Wave of Retail Pricing Litigation: Is the Price Right?

Creative plaintiffs’ lawyers have latched on to the latest claim du jour in the form of class actions alleging deceptive marketing related to the pricing of merchandise at retail outlets. The rash of lawsuits comes on the heels of a request by Congress to the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the pricing practices at outlet stores. Whether this issue fades away like a dated trend or becomes a timeless staple of the plaintiffs’ bar repertoire remains to be seen, but in the near future retailers should be prepared for increased scrutiny and additional lawsuits. Christie Grymes Thompson, chair of Kelley Drye’s Advertising and Marketing practice, and Michael Lynch, chair of Kelley Drye’s Litigation practice, will discuss the hurdles the plaintiffs may face in these lawsuits and provide their insights on what the retail sector can do to reduce the risk of such challenges.

New Trends in Fashion and Retail Marketing: Social Media and Native Advertising

Life as an advertiser, and as a consumer, used to be so simple. There was advertising and there was content. There was marketing and there was conversation. Today, things are more complicated. Social media advertising leverages the ongoing conversations of our society to promote products and services, while native advertising integrates commercial with so-called “organic” content. Information sought out by consumers leads to information put forward by advertisers and back again, in the daisy chain of “discovered” content. But what are the legal rules of this new road? There hasn’t been time for a lot of applicable legal precedent to form in the areas of social media or native advertising – or has there? Kelley Drye advertising-law partner Gonzalo Mon describes recent cases and enforcement pronouncements and present hypothetical case studies as a guide to steering clear of liability and enforcement in the new advertising environment.

In Fashion