At an event held at the University of West London on the 17.11.11 at the request of the People’s Republic of China, Dids Macdonald, Vice-Chair of The Alliance against IP Theft and CEO of ACID (Anti Copying in Design) and Jennifer Castoldi, ACID’s Development Director gave a comprehensive presentation on UK design issues to the 25-strong Chinese delegation. The delegates were all senior directors or influencers of a Chinese Government research programme.

The delegation were on an information gathering exercise, specifically looking for examples of the way intellectual property in all its various forms is protected in the UK and the extent of  the effect of IP theft on businesses. Their main objectives were to get a good grasp of best practice in the UK and consider whether this is something appropriate for use in China.

Amongst their other objectives was to find out the current government position on design issues, to hear ACID’s views on current priorities and responsibilities, and to understand ACID’s business model. Primarily they wanted to hear from ACID about the effect of IP theft on design-led sme’s and how the organisation tackles various IP infringement issues.

The invitation from the Chinese Delegation was sent to The Alliance against IP Theft, to which ACID has strong ties. Other presentations that took place during the 2 day event included the Publishers Association Copyright Infringement Portal  (a global automated search, and cease and desist notification service for books, newspaper and magazine publishers), as well as an overview of the Alliance against IP Theft from Director General Susie Winter.  Presentations also encompassed information about the Enforcement Policy Council from Chris Oldknow of Microsoft Europe on counterfeit software and from the UK music industry and copyright, and the relation between IP and growth in emerging markets.

Expressing thanks to the senior representative Mr Li Jianguo, Head of the Chinese Government Delegation, Dids Macdonald said, “We hope that this is the beginning of on-going and formative dialogue with the Chinese Government to work together collaboratively and positively to raise awareness about the importance of best practice across all aspects of IP issues in support of the creative industries globally”. Macdonald continued, “I am encouraged that through the Alliance against IP Theft, ACID and other key organisations were selected by the Chinese government to be invited to demonstrate ways in which heuristic solutions and business models can help various different sectors in different ways.”

Responding, Mr Li Jianguo, Head of the Chinese Government Delegation said, “ACID is an excellent example of an organisation providing an effective conduit between government and industry on design IP issues”.

SME Access to Small Claims IP Court set for 2012

After over a decade of representations to Government to improve access to a cost and time effective framework to address IP infringement issues for small businesses, ACID is delighted that the Government has confirmed today that a new small claims service will be introduced at the Patents County Court to give SME’s easier access to deal with copyright, patents, trade marks and design infringement. The Government announcement states;
“Currently, small firms are often put off enforcing their Intellectual Property (IP) rights by high costs. The new process will limit fixed costs and allow damages of up to £5,000 per case. New figures produced today by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimate that around 150 firms will benefit from the service every year, providing an annual boost to UK business of £350,000.”

The recommendation for a small claims service, made in the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth was supported by ACID.  However, ACID believes that the Government figure of just 150 firms potentially bringing cases through the new system seems unrealistically low in terms of the infringement cases it hears about on a daily basis.

Dids Macdonald, CEO of ACID commented “This is a significant step forward to support small businesses in their continuous battle against copyists but it will only work effectively if the system itself is user-friendly and free from cumbersome bureaucratic and legal process complications. For the majority of UK’s 232,000 design community who have less than 4 employees and find it cost prohibitive to pursue legal action this will be a welcome initiative. We hope it will act as a deterrent against copying and provide a boost for growth and development. It is further good news, following the previous announcement of a separate fast track Patents County Court system, that smaller designers and innovators now have an improved legal system to protect their intellectual property rights and business interests.  I would like to thank those that contributed their experiences to the ACID submission to the Hargreaves Review and we hope that our latest submission to the Government’s Call for Evidence on Design will continue to bring about design law reform in other areas, chiefly addressing the disparity between copyright and design right.”

Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox said: “We hope to have the new system in place by this time next year”.