We have dynamic content that is served up based on the URL. That is to say, the URL does not actually represent directories within the website but instead activates template and database structures so that the proper content is served.

We have an backend admin to upload new content to the site and we can pick multiple categories for content to belong to.

So for instance, the same story/content can be seen from two different URLs

The two URLs below will show the exact same content/story.

[url]http://www.apparelnews.net/news/fashion_news/Designing-the-Character[/url]
[url]http://www.apparelnews.net/features/special_reports/Designing-the-Character[/url]

Is this problematic from and SEO perspective? I know that Google does not want duplicate content - but is this truly seen as duplicate content?

The only time that Google would be indexing the content is the first week it is live - then the URLs are available through the site navigation. After the first week or two, they become "archived" and are only found through a site search.

Should we be careful and make sure that only one URL can be index when the story goes live? (I believe this can be done).