Craft Focus - August/September 2020 (Issue 80)

74 IP housekeeping With many of us having a littl more time on our hands, Dids Macdonald, CEO of Anti Copying in Design (ACID), looks at the importance of IP housekeeping while offering some of ACID council member’s COVID-19 insights Keeping signed and dated records of all your designs is good housekeeping at any time but somehow in the hustle and bustle of life, documentation management can fall to the bottom of the list. The majority of UK designers rely on unregistered rights and so meticulous records of how and when designs are created is essential. Why? If, for example, you are unlucky enough to be copied, being able to provide an instant signed and dated audit trail is essential if you want to take quick and effective action. So, if you do have any spare time on your hands, now is the time to get your precious intellectual property house in order. Creating a proactive approach to design protection is critical and, as we emerge from our current crisis, even more so. In the UK you can register your designs at the Intellectual Property Office and you will receive a numbered certificate basically saying you “own” the designs you have created. If renewed every five years or so, is a very strong IP right and has been that way for 25 years. ACID always recommends this formal means of protection. However, the majority of UK designers rely on unregistered design rights and ACID provides an IP Databank, with thousands of designs lodged every year. This does not add to Unregistered Design Rights (UDR) but provides reliable third party independent evidence of a design’s existence on the date of receipt by ACID i.e. an audit trail. Design files are held on our secure system and remain unseen by anyone unless required as evidence to substantiate design ownership. The majority of settlements on behalf of ACID members have been based on unregistered design rights. Enforcement of unregistered design right infringement is only as good as the evidence you can provide to substantiate ownership. Unregistered Design right only protects the shape or configuration of a 3D product. During these uncharted times and challenging times, the ACID team have been amazed at the number uploads to our Intellectual Property (IP) Databank! Jane Banyai, ACID’s operations director, said, “It’s never been busier. We’re encouraged if designers are, with a little more time, designing prolifically and creatively or, on the other hand, heartened by those doing a little IP “housekeeping” and getting through those little, but essential jobs that somehow go to the bottom of the “to do” list – like ensuring IP protection by uploading designs to the IP Databank.” INDUSTRY INSIGHTS The ACID Council, whose members span many design sectors, met recently and shared some of their insights: • TEAM HEALTH, MORALE Our team has been baking cakes, taking part in blogs and undertaking local voluntary work. We encourage and demonstrate mindfulness in the community and our team. We keep in touch with the team and clients, telephoning them and being aware of identifying mental health issues. We always ask the question, “How can I keep the team motivated and supported?” Positive communication is king. Reward and show loyalty if you have a good team. Keep team morale up and maintain contact with your customer base. Run small website promotions and online social media initiatives “come and see!” Identifying in house skills and sharing via short focused masterclasses internally e.g., many designers don’t know how to use excel, for example or merchandising, marketing, IP protection and document management. One Council member holds meditation classes, yoga, and fitness and has up a website to build up skills and learn how to do social media. Concentrate on small amounts of good news. • ENCOURAGING BUYING BRITISH Maybe in the reduction of