85 ACID To find out more, visit www.acid.uk.com UK. The lack of robust, accessible protection leaves lone designers and small businesses at a disadvantage, unable to bear the often-prohibitive costs of legal action or to compete with deep-pocketed infringers. The accompanying stress involved in having to constantly face copying threats is incalculable. Is the current Legal Framework under strain? The current design rights framework in the UK is a patchwork of protections that include unregistered design rights, registered designs, and copyright. While these tools exist to safeguard creators, they are often insufficient in practice. For instance, unregistered design rights offer only limited protection for the appearance of products and can be difficult to enforce without concrete evidence of originality and prior use. Meanwhile, registered designs c though offering stronger protection – require designers to navigate an often complex and costly application process. For SMEs and lone designers in the greetings cards and giftware sector, these obstacles are particularly pronounced. Many lack the resources to pursue lengthy IP disputes, leaving them vulnerable to copycat products that undercut their market share and erode consumer trust. This is an emerging and worrying problem on online platforms such as Temu and Shein. So, why does the forthcoming Designs Consultation matter? The upcoming 2025 government consultation represents a crucial opportunity to address these gaps and adapt the legal framework to better serve UK designers. ACID has highlighted several areas that require urgent attention, including: 1. Streamlined Processes for Design Registration: Simplifying and lowering the costs of registering designs could encourage more designers to seek formal protection, creating a stronger deterrent against copying. 2. Strengthened Enforcement Mechanisms: Designers need faster, more accessible pathways to resolve disputes, such as many more nimble, small claims courts for IP cases or alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Most UK designers rely on unregistered design right (UDR) and ACID is advocating criminalising this in line with registered design to act as a stronger deterrent. 3. Education and Support: Many designers, particularly those running micro-businesses, lack awareness of their rights or the resources to enforce them. Government and industry-led initiatives could bridge this knowledge gap. How can you help? Design is one of the unsung heroes of the UK economy. From iconic to everyday, design is everywhere, providing solutions, changing and improving our lives daily. Designers are creative, talented and skilled and their knowledge assets incalculable. It is imperative they are remunerated for what they create without the challenges of copycats. It’s time for unity to influence real policy changes to provide design laws that are fit for purpose. The Designs Consultation provides a once in a decade opportunity to influence real reform, so please tell YOUR story, how much you have lost though copying and the various challenges you have and continue to have. We promise to put this information into responses to government as case studies so that your voices are heard, resolutely. Please send to info@acid@uk.com Protecting creativity in a competitive world The UK’s reputation as a global hub of design excellence depends on the ability of its creators to innovate without fear of exploitation. For greetings cards and giftware designers, who often operate on slim margins and short product cycles, effective IP protections are not just a legal necessity - they are a lifeline. ACID’s call for reform underscores the importance of ensuring that the legal framework aligns with the realities of modern design and commerce. By participating in the consultation and advocating for meaningful change, designers, industry leaders, and policymakers can secure a future where creativity thrives, and the rights of all creators are respected and upheld. A united voice is a stronger force for real change to protect originality. It is the skill and the special talent that many of you in this sector not only possess but are the catalysts.
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