The United States Supreme Court is all set to take up the subject of costumes and outfits on Halloween.  In an usual case, the eight justices were asked to define copyright limits. The case also poses a question, “Can the design of a cheerleader's outfit be protected by rights of authorship?”

The dispute includes pitting Star Athletica against Varsity Brands, duo are manufacturers of clothings for young athletes or cheerleaders.

The federal law said, a design can be protected by copyright if it can be famed as separate from the function of article.

Philip Gust, president of the International Costumers Guild, said that, "Suppose that Desilu Studios tried to protect the original Star Trek costumes by copyrighting every conceivable type and arrangement of sleeve braid and geometric insignia shapes on the three solid colors used for the shirts in the series."

"Every sci-fi space pilot from Buck Rogers to Battle Star Galactica has similar elements," he said. "Varsity is trying to treat arrangements of geometrical shapes that just happen to be the ones on cheerleading costumes as separable works of art, but in fact, they're no more separable than the elements of the Star Trek shirt," he said. "Mondrian must be rolling in his grave."

Sudan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University's law school, disagrees, said that, "There is zero possibility that this case, or any proposed change in US copyright law would affect access to common elements of a fashion genre or to historical costumes, which are already in the public domain."

"A costume designer who wants to recreate a medieval knight or a 1920s flapper is and will remain free to do so, no matter what the Supreme Court decides."

- Nandini