Design Week, the leading voice in the design industry, is an opinion maker and vital conduit for designers, brands, and creative thinkers. At this crucial time for design law, Design Week elevates the voice of design campaigner and co-founder of Anti Copying In Design (ACID) Did Macdonald OBE to give oxygen to the recently announced Designs Consultation, and galvanise the design industry into contributing to this once in a decade cause, saying that designers must speak up to change unfair IP laws.

Read the full article in Design Week

• The UK government’s consultation on design law aims to modernise a complex system affecting 1.97 million designers.
• Most designers rely on unregistered design rights, which last up to 15 years and carry no criminal penalties for deliberate copying.
• Copyright protection, by contrast, lasts a creator’s life plus 70 years and includes criminal sanctions, creating a significant imbalance.
• ACID advocates for criminalising intentional infringement of unregistered designs to ensure parity across IP rights.
• Large businesses oppose criminal liability, claiming it would stifle innovation, but the government calls these concerns “overstated.”
• The consultation proposes clarifying protection for digital design forms, including GUIs and animations, while excluding AI-generated designs which is welcome.
• Current policy is managed by the IPO under DSIT, which focuses on patents and trademark registrations rather than the needs of designers.
• Shifting responsibility to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could better align policy with the creative sector.
• Designers face a “David vs Goliath” struggle, with legal action often too costly or complex to challenge large-scale copying.
• Stronger, more accessible IP protection is essential to support UK creativity, economic growth, and global competitiveness.

Designers can take part in the Government’s consultation. Additionally, you can contribute to ACID’s response by submitting a quick and easy online case study.

ACID has a dedicated page about the consultation.

Join & register our online workshop on October 22^nd to find out how you can get involved.

Dids Macdonald is chairman and co-founder of Anti Copying In Design.