If you’re studying furniture design, your creativity already has value. From early sketches to final prototypes, your work has intellectual property (IP) and understanding how to protect it can shape your future career.
Too often, students only learn about IP after their ideas have been copied. This guide explains what IP furniture design students need, how it applies to your work, and how organisations like Anti Copying In Design (ACID) can support you at every stage.
IP refers to the legal rights that protect original creations, inventions, designs and brands, giving creators ownership and control.
For furniture design students, IP could apply to:
Understanding IP early allows you to share work with confidence, collaborate safely, and protect your future commercial opportunities.
ACID helps students understand which rights apply at which stage of the design process, so you don’t over-share or under-protect your work.
Copyright is an automatic right in the UK, no registration required.
For furniture design students, copyright protects aspects such as:
Copyright safeguards the concept and development process, helping prove authorship and originality if disputes arise.
ACID’s IP Databank provides a secure third-party audit trail, time-stamping your drawings, design files, and product images. This independent evidence can be crucial if your work is copied or challenged.
Design rights are the most important IP rights for furniture designers because they protect how a product looks.
Registered designs protect the visual appearance of a product, including:
This is the key right for protecting furniture forms and offers strong, long-term protection.
Novelty matters and, once a design is publicly disclosed, you have 12 months to test the commercial success of a product and register it.
ACID members gain access to expert guidance on when and how to register designs, helping students avoid common (and costly) mistakes around disclosure and timing.
Unregistered design rights arise automatically and protect the original shape and configuration of furniture designs for a limited period.
They offer short-term protection but are harder to enforce and provide less certainty than registered designs.
ACID helps students understand how to evidence unregistered design rights, including what documentation is needed to prove copying rather than coincidence. Our IP Databank acts as 3rd party, dated evidence, which is especially crucial with evidencing unregistered designs.
Trade marks protect brand identity, not the furniture design itself.
They can apply to:
As students move towards commercial practice, trade marks become increasingly important.
Using the ACID logo acts as a visible deterrent, signalling that your work is protected and that copying will be challenged, often preventing infringement before it happens.
Protecting IP is part of professional design practice. Students can take action now by:
ACID provides access to trusted legal affiliate support, including IP-specific agreements and contracts, helping students collaborate safely and professionally.
IP protection isn’t just about law; it’s about career confidence.
Understanding IP helps you:
Designers who understand IP are better equipped to turn creativity into sustainable careers.
ACID supports designers before, during and after copying occurs; offering education, deterrence tools and access to enforcement expertise when needed.
ACID exists to protect creativity and champion design rights across the UK design industry. Its dedicated Student Membership gives emerging designers access to:
Visit ACID’s Student Membership page to protect your ideas before someone else profits from your creativity.
To support stronger IP for everyone, you can sign the ACID IP Charter.
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