Dids Macdonald

Dids Macdonald is the Chief Executive Officer of ACID. Macdonald has over 20 years experience within the design industry, initially running and owning a London based interior design practice and, latterly, as a partner in a global, niche market design and manufacturing company. Macdonald has a firsthand knowledge of copying – she launched ACID as a result of her design-led products being consistently plagiarised.

ACID began in 1996 as a round table discussion group, the organisation now represents over 1000+ companies in the creative industries with a collective turnover of £3 billion.

Dids Macdonald is a CEDR Accredited Mediator. To date ACID’s grassroots mediations to resolve copying complaints at exhibitions have demonstrated the power of mediation as an alternative to litigation. Less than 30% required further legal intervention. There have hundreds of settlements on behalf of ACID members recovering millions in costs and damages; only three reached a final Court hearing. Macdonald launched “Mediate to Resolve” in 2008.

Areas of expertise include:

  • Intellectual property disputes
  • Design right infringements
  • Copyright issues
  • Licensing
  • Trade mark/packaging infringements
  • Disputes at exhibitions between rights owners over ownership issues

“Focused the parties on the key issues between them and set a clear agenda for the meeting at the outset.”

“Overall, I was extremely impressed by the way in which Dids drew together two parties who clearly disagreed over issues key to their business. In a short space of time, Dids ensured that they had addressed the main points in dispute, which points would be key for the future and which points were in agreement, and above all that each left with the intention of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.”

“Kept the parties calm throughout by ensuring that each had a fair chance to put their case to the other and discuss points they considered important; clarified and summarised the next steps each party was to take.”