US law on prints and patterns
Fabric design copyright: what US law protects in a print
A garment is a useful article, which US copyright does not protect as such. A print or pattern on it can be protected, and that decides whether a brand's print archive is an asset it can license.
Ask about my design archive 5 of the 10 textile and fashion platforms we read leave the designs with the customer. Tell us where your archive lives and we will write back about it.
The useful article rule
17 USC 101 treats the design of a useful article as a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work only to the extent it has such features that can be identified separately from the article's utilitarian aspects.
Source: 17 USC 101
Star Athletica's test
The Supreme Court applied that test to cheerleading uniforms in 2017 and held that the surface decorations on them were separable and eligible for copyright protection.
Source: Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands
What the Copyright Office registers
The Office's Compendium works through fabric examples: a fabric design registered with one background colour, and a second version refused because it differed only in that colour. A colourway on its own adds nothing to register.
Source: Compendium, chapter 900
A design patent can cover surface ornamentation applied to an article too (MPEP 1502). The UK position is at unregistered design rights in the UK.
Source: MPEP 1502