Andy Kingston, of Fiesta Collectables Ltd., is no stranger to people ripping off his artists’ work – that is why he has become very knowledgeable about intellectual property rights and why he is determined to send a very clear message out to the perpetrators. Having successfully fought off Nemesis at last year’s Spring Fair. The word was out, through extensive Anti Copying in Design trade press coverage, that the best selling Green Man (part of the In The Greenwood range) was definitely out of bounds. Customers and shopkeepers who remain fiercely loyal to the Fiesta brand were the first to let Andy know about what appeared to be a knock off.
Taking a leaf out of a lawyer’s approach, Andy spoke to the High Street store and asked whether they realised they were infringing his designs. He also sent several graphics of the original and alleged copy. They admitted that the lookalike bore a close resemblance to Fiesta’s Green Man Oak and gave Fiesta written assurance that no more would be produced and that they had very few left. In fact they were very professional and resolved the matter quickly. Although they denied infringement, luckily for Andy they paid a four-figure sum in lost royalties and confirmed that no more lookalikes would be produced.
Following the successful challenge Andy Kingston said, ”Belonging to ACID is a great help and it makes people think twice before they try copying. Since being members we have seen the number of instances fall dramatically. It is a great shame that more businesses do not join ACID and abide by the protocol. We at Fiesta Collectables Ltd. will always pursue copying to protect the talented artists with whom we work and support”.
Dids Macdonald, ACID’s CEO said, “Increasingly, those who seek the fast track to market through copying will find out that more and more people are becoming aware of their intellectual property rights. It really isn’t rocket science – basically if you create an original work and it is novel and has not been copied from something already in existence, you create your own copyright or design right automatically. Putting belt and braces around your intellectual property by sending all new designs to the ACID Design Data Bank provides independent evidence should it ever be required”.