Industry leaders from bedding to furniture, toys to interior design met recently at a joint event hosted by Robert Lands of ACID legal affiliate, Howard Kennedy, to discuss intellectual property and artificial intelligence issues shaping the future of design, employment and innovation. Read our report here.

Opening the event, ACID Chairman and Co-founder Dids Macdonald OBE., highlighted the long-awaited UK Design Consultation, for which ACID has campaigned for more than a decade. Dids stressed concerns regarding the current framework, stating, “The current framework remains too cumbersome for designers and I question how AI and data mining will impact creators’ rights, transparency and protection against infringement on online marketplaces”.

Robert Lands of Howard Kennedy examined the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding AI and IP, including the UK Government’s recent Copyright and AI report, the implications of data mining, and significant cases such as Getty v Stability AI and Disney & Universal v Midjourney. He emphasised the importance of transparency and labelling in future AI legislation. Robert said, “The principles that should underpin future AI Legislation include transparency (this is about being transparent about what has been used to train the AI model) and labelling- making it clear when AI has been used to create a product. Although this can be difficult to determine, as AI can be used to create an output to varying extents”.

L-R: Phil Spademan, Director, British Furniture Association (BFA); Liz Bell, President, British Institute of Interior Design (BIID); Robert Lands, Partner & Head of IP and Commercial, Howard Kennedy LLP; Alexandra Mizzi, Legal Director, Howard Kennedy LLP; Mark McCormack, Managing Director, Talking Tables; Dids Macdonald OBE, Co-Founder and Chairman, ACID; Jessica Alexander, Master, Furniture Makers’ Company; Sophie Cooney, Founder, Sophie Cooney Runners.

ACID would like to thank Robert Lands and Alex Mizzi of Howard Kennedy LLP for hosting the event and providing such excellent insight. We look forward to arranging future round table events and encourage all who can to attend and maximise this invaluable opportunity to gain and share knowledge.