Susie Winter of the AAIPT recently attended the Trading Standards Institute launch of National e-Consumer week, where the danger of buying fakes online was highlighted.

Susie reports that the TSI recently conducted a survey of visitors to their own website and found that:

• Out of the 73% of people who are concerned about shopping online 6% are concerned the item will be fake
• However, out of the 28% who said they had problems shopping online 19% said the item when it arrived was fake (48% said the item never arrived)
• When asked what they would do if they had a problem 10% said they would take it on the chin and avoid using the same website

Calls to Consumer Direct on counterfeits went up 43% from Aug 08-09 to Aug 09-10

• Aug 08-09 1,958 calls
• Aug 09-10 2,801 calls

The number of fakes seized by the UK Border Agency has increased more than four-fold over the past decade

• 2000 – 857,772
• 2010 – 3,707,940

IP Minister Baroness Wilcox said, “Fake goods can pose a serious risk to health and safety. Poor quality electrical goods can cause fires and electrocution. Just this month a teenager was badly burnt after buying seemingly genuine hair straighteners.”

Download the Report in PDF Format Here

Registration deadline: December 3, 2010 -Early Bird Tariff for registrations before November 02, 2010

The 35th  Plagiarius-competition date has been announced. Action Plagiarius grants this negative award at the annual “Ambiente”, the world’s largest consumer goods trade fair, during an international press conference. The award is given to those manufacturers and distributors whom the jury has found guilty of making or selling “the most flagrant” (design) imitations. Key figure is a black painted gnome with a gold nose to signify the illicit earnings from product imitation.

Since 1977 Action Plagiarius has been increasing the public awareness of the unscrupulous business practices of imitators who copy 1:1 the innovative design and technical solutions of successful products. The aim of Plagiarius is to inform the public – industry and consumers alike – about the sweeping extent of the damages and dangers incurred by fakes and plagiarisms. Furthermore Plagiarius serves as a platform and is a great conduit for industry to shed light on this problem on an international basis. The huge public awareness level of “Plagiarius” often makes a strong impact. In the past, numerous imitators have withdrawn remainders of stock from the market, have signed cease and desist letters or revealed their suppliers.

It is most important that affected companies protect their innovations and at the same time draw the attention to the increasing problem of brand and product piracy. Particularly consumers should be sensitised for the problem. Without demand, there would be no supply. Action Plagiarius combines both: deterrence of the imitators (supply) and sensitisation of the consumers (demand).

On February 11, 2011 – the first day of the “Ambiente” International Consumer Goods Trade Fair – the award ceremony / press conference of “Plagiarius 2011” will take place. All entries will be shown from February 11-15, 2011 in Foyer 5.1/6.1 during the “Ambiente”. Afterwards the prize winners will be shown at changing world-wide exhibitions and in the Museum Plagiarius in Solingen (Germany).

Designers and companies affected by plagiarisms, should apply for the Plagiarius Competition 2011

For the evaluation the jury needs:

• The original product
• The alleged plagiarism
• The filled in registration for (new: can be filled in directly at the PC)
• Any correspondence with the imitator
• Copies of IP (Intellectual Property) registrations (certificates of design patents, utility patents etc.) if any registered
• If needed, any further information that may be helpful for the jury (short and precise !)

The early bird registration fee until Nov. 02, 2010:

Registration: EUR 250,00 – further registrations (each): EUR 150,00

The registration fee until Dec. 03, 2010:

Registration: EUR 300,00 – further registrations (each): EUR 150,00

Applications are welcome any time from now on – the application form can be downloaded at:

http://www.plagiarius.de/e_awards_comp.html

For further information please ask Christine Lacroix, info@plagiarius.com or phone. +49(0)7308 / 922 422

Last year’s winner image taken from Plagiarius website

ACID Member Damian Evans of Element Design has just announced his latest innovative design for Joseph Joseph.  He has developed a new style rotary peeler with three blades in a compact 90mm diameter case which can be split apart for ease of cleaning. The three blades are designed  to work efficiently for hard skinned vegetables such as potatoes, soft skinned vegetables and fruit and also for cutting juliennes.

It will be available from October.

View his latest work on his website

Celebrating British ingenuity – 6th September to 28th November 2010

In a celebration of British ingenuity the British Library is exploring the stories behind fifteen ground-breaking inventions from this century’s first decade. Whether they are changing the world of sport, fighting climate change, or just making life a bit easier, each inventor has challenged the established way of doing things. From Dyson’s revolutionary bladeless fan to President Obama’s favourite dog bowl and it is possible to trace the journey of an idea from that first spark of inspiration to the development of a business. The original drawings, patent specifications and finished products have been made available to view.

One of the 15 inventions is the Money Saving Ewgeco Energy Monitor developed by ACID Ambassador and Member Tanya Ewing.  Attached to a domestic or commercial power supply, this single device makes monitoring usage of electricity, gas and water easy through a simple traffic light warning system.

An inspiring programme of events will take a deeper look at world of inventions and help aspiring inventors to turn their ideas into reality, with the support of the Library’s Business & IP Centre.

Curator of the exhibition and the British Library’s resident Patent expert, Steve Van Dulken, said, “Inventing the 21st Century is a celebration of British ingenuity.  Investigating the stories behind fifteen leading British inventions from the last decade, this exhibition covers everything from potential world changing renewable energy devices and cutting edge medical technology, to products that simply aim to make daily life that little bit easier.  “Detailing the journey from inspiration to market behind each of these products, the British Library hopes this exhibition will inspire a generation of aspiring inventors to explore their ideas and turn that creativity into a reality.”

For further information visit the British Library Website

Please find a link below for a radio interview featuring Tanya on the You and Yours show

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes

SOCIAL: the new media for Brands?

Marketers, creatives and brand professionals are invited to join us on 6th October to learn about Social Media, which has been projected as bigger for brands than advertising! Social Media consultants Educated Change will present the topic at this free evening reception at the Brand Museum (from 6pm).

Further Information
The Museum of Brands charts 300 years of brand progression, through numerous technological and cultural revolutions.  Radio, TV and Internet each changed the face of branding and advertising.  A new revolution is underway that is likely to dwarf all those that occurred in the last 100 years.
The Museum of Brands have arranged an evening presentation with Educated Change to share how Social Media will impact how you promote and protect brand identity and loyalty in the coming years.  The event will be held at the Museum on October 6th and it is free to attend!

This event is about helping you and your company prepare for the next shift in communication (networking and social media). Understand what you can do now, what you should be planning and what tools will help reduce the workload.

Join us for a glass of wine, some light snacks, a tour of the Museum and a 40 minute seminar that will help you understand the way you communicate in the Brand Shift era.

Agenda
6.00  Drinks, Museum visit, networking
6.30  Social Media Seminar

• 300 years of communication history – a brief overview
• Trends in Social Media, Collaboration and Networking
• Success and Failure – Case Studies
• What you should be doing so you don’t waste time and money
• Feedback

7.10  Post seminar drink
7.40  Event ends

This event is now fully booked

For more information on this event and others please visit the Museum of Brands Events Page

6 October    09:00 – 17:00    Brand Yorkshire -  Leeds

8 October 10.00 – 17.00 New Start Wales – Cardiff
9 October 10.00 – 16.00 New Start Wales – Cardiff

13 – 16 October British Invention Show 10th Anniversary – London

14 October 10.00 – 17.00 Business South West – Exeter
15 October 10.00 – 16.00

18 – 29 October World Intellectual Property Organisation & British Copyright Council Training Course

21 October 09.00 – 14.00 Creating a Brand for your Business – York

27 – 28 October Business North West – Manchester

3 November Intellectual Property, Innovation & the UK Economy – London

4 November 17.00 – 20.00 Innovation Halifax Business Support Event – Halifax

24 November 17.00 – 21.00 Protecting your Ideas & Inventions – London

30 November 16.00 – 18.00 Intellectual Property Clinic - Newport, South Wales

8 December 17.00 – 21.00 Creating a Brand for your Business – London

9 December 18.00 – 21.00 Creative Collaborations: the Legal Perspective – London

As the Autumn exhibition season approaches it is time to review your exhibition protection policy and ACID has an exhibition guide available with many tips to ensure safe exhibiting.  Over the past 10 years ACID has worked proactively with teams of ACID Accredited Exhibition Organisers offering help and advice to all exhibitors, should they be unlucky enough to be copied, using the ACID exhibition protocol.  This is an on-site mediation service and is available to all exhibitors free of charge during the exhibition. ACID Accredited Exhibition Organisers support a zero tolerance to copying and fortunately the instances of copying have reduced over the years.

One of ACID’s other main purposes exhibitions is to hold one to one clinics on copyright, trademarks, design rights and patents, offering advice and guidelines as well as raising awareness about the need for IP protection.  Intellectual property is a positive force and can often be used for brand expansion in licensing, franchising and collaborative design partnerships.

This September ACID will be attending the following exhibitions;

Autumn Fair – Entrance to Hall 3, Stand L02

Top Drawer Autumn – Roving Team available on 07956229876

GLEE – Hall 5, Stand G68

100% Design – Stand  C26

You can telephone the ACID legal rover at the exhibition 07956229876 or alternatively visit the stand for help and advice on all intellectual property issues.

Teemo “Pure” range. Sculptural and functional glass furniture to inspire!

The new “Pure” collection of glass furniture by Teemo pushes the boundaries of what is possible with glass. Glued together using a clear and extremely high strength glue, each piece seems to improbably hang and balance together creating sculptural pieces that are also exceedingly functional. Nick Green, Teemo’s MD said, “Intellectual property is at the very heart of Teemo and, having spent a great deal of creative time and investment in our new products, one of the most important aspects is protecting our IP. Each time a new product is design we religiously send it to the ACID Design Data Bank. This provides us with the assurance that a responsible third party has evidence confirming the date the designs were received, an essential audit trail if anyone dared to copy us!”

As part of the new “Pure” collection Teemo have also introduced some painted glass elements giving blasts of colour within the range. There is a new coffee table that can be orientated in 3 positions to allow it to be a lamp table, end of sofa mini-shelf or low coffee table. Each position also incorporates storage as a secondary function.  Also included is a colourful and sculptural lamp table that seems quite impossibly to stay together made from 4 carefully proportioned and positioned squares of glass. All of these new items are available for purchase in small or larger quantities. As a design organisation Teemo can also design items for larger projects or make one off items to specification giving complete flexibility to contract, retail and domestic customers.

Meet the Teemo team at Stand B44 or vist their website: www.teemo.co.uk

Congratulations to ACID Member Sue Scott Horne of Egar who has just been nominated for yet another award! Further to last months nominations she has also been nominated as a national finalist in the “Most Inspirational” category of the Inspiration Awards. To support and vote for her/EGAR please visit:

www.inspirationawards.co.uk

Also she is a regional finalist in the Barclays Trading Places Awards. She is also visiting City Hall, London Assembly and has been invited to join their Pan London Youth Participation Networks and will be speaking at their next event.

SABIP work and achievements – how it was left – what will happen now?

The new Government has wasted no time in pruning many quangos and SABIP (the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property) did not escape the axe wielding. Despite ACID previously meeting with SABIP to present ACID’s view, we did not feel that their level of work and understanding within design related issues was in line with their focus on other intellectual property rights (as recommended in the report by Andrew Gowers). However, it is hoped that their otherwise excellent research programme on the Economic Value of Intellectual Property to the UK will be taken forward by the team at the IPO headed by Tony Clayton. These are tough times, with the recent loss of the Film Council also and it is sad when organisations that put intellectual property at the heart of policy making, lose their voice.

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