Tiffany is identified by its little blue boxes, Chanel by its interlocking “C’s.”

Mass-market companies understandably want to emulate the brands and images that high-end designers have established.

Counterfeit goods are coming to a store near you, and the original designer will sometimes cry foul.

Tiffany and Co. recently accused eBay of allowing counterfeit Tiffany jewelry to be sold on its Web site. The U.S. District Court in Manhattan is currently hearing arguments to determine who is at fault. Tiffany and Co. claims eBay has not taken the necessary measures to stop counterfeit sales. EBay attests Tiffany has not done enough to inform the auction site about counterfeit sales.

The branding issue gets further confused in discussions of design piracy. Sara Marcketti, assistant professor of apparel, educational studies, and hospitality management, said there is a difference between counterfeiting and piracy.

Counterfeiting is creating a copy of a product and selling it as the original. Piracy is imitating a design, but not marketing it under the label of the original designer. For example, a pirated purse may have the structure and material of a Chanel design, Marcketti said, “but you’re not trying to sell Chanel.”

Counterfeiting is against the law, but piracy is currently allowed. However, a bill presented to the House and Senate may change that.

The Design Piracy Prohibition Act would set up a trademark system for designs in which companies would be prohibited from copying others’ designs. Supporters of the bill believe duplicated products infuse the market with poorer-quality goods and decrease the value of the original design. The purpose of the act is to guard designers’ work and intellectual property.

Marcketti said supporters believe the act will promote more creativity among designers because they would no longer be able to directly draw from other designers’ work.

In some ways, however, this piracy has become an integral part of the system of fashion production.

Sarah Huckaby, junior in apparel merchandising, design and production, has learned in her textiles and clothing classes how common the practice is in the fashion industry.

“I don’t think any amount of legislation will stop this,” Huckaby said.

Part of piracy is the trickle-down effect. Marcketti said concepts seen on the runway and in couture lines rapidly trickle down to department store fashions, such as those at Younkers, and then to clothing seen at retailers like Wal-Mart. The Internet also facilitates this effect. The trickle-down effect brings designer looks to the masses.

“It’s nice because people who can’t afford a $500 coat can get a $50 one at Target,” said Molly Davis, sophomore in early childhood education.

Davis said she thinks designers have similar clothing because they want to reflect what is in style, not necessarily because they want to copy each other.

The proposed act would bring this practice under scrutiny. Designers of mass-marketed fashion would not be as free to draw from the ideas of high-end designers. But stopping piracy may have its ups and downs.

“You could think of it as the knock-offs promoting the brand,” Marcketti said, “But the money doesn’t go back to the designer.”

A handful of designers have tried to beat the piracy problem by joining the knock-off realm. Runway designer Isaac Mizrahi has an affordable line at Target. Vera Wang made her mark in wedding gowns and now has a line of clothing at Kohl’s. The brands of these high-end designers have spread their names into the closets of the masses.

“You see designers knock themselves off,” Marcketti said, “It’s helped those designers expand their lines.”

Huckaby said designers don’t like to see their creations copied, but made the point that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

Hemlines change from season to season – what color is en vogue for fall may be passe in the spring, and what is seen on the runway will soon appear in the mall. The speed at which fashion moves is fast-paced and, to keep up, designers sometimes have to borrow ideas.

“I think fashion moves so quickly that it necessitates this process,” Marcketti said.