Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at lightning speed but, for the UK’s vibrant giftware, greetings and stationery sectors, this progress comes with serious risks. In our latest article for Gift Focus magazine, ACID’s Dids Macdonald OBE., explores how generative AI threatens to undermine originality, copyright and the livelihoods of designers whose creativity powers the industry.

World IP Day is long gone but its message has never been more urgent: protect the creator, not the copier. As AI systems scrape, mimic and reproduce copyright work without consent, UK designers face the alarming prospect of being replaced by the  technology that feeds on their ideas. This isn’t innovation; it’s industrial-scale theft.

The UK government’s recent copyright and AI consultation, which received over 11,000 responses, marks a critical turning point. ACID has joined countless creators in urging policymakers to safeguard human authorship, enforce permission-based AI training and ensure fair compensation for designers whose work fuels AI outputs. Remarkably, eight months on, the government has been silent on its response.

For the giftware and greetings industries, originality isn’t optional; it’s the foundation of their value. From hand-illustrated cards to bespoke keepsakes, copyright protection ensures designers can thrive, innovate and build sustainable businesses. Without it, we risk hollowing out one of the UK’s most personal and creative sectors.

Read ACID’s full article in Gift Focus magazine: AI in the Giftware Industry – Protecting Creativity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Support ACID to push for integrity in design by signing the ACID IP Charter, which stands for respect, ethics and compliance.

Visit our dedicated Design Consultation webpage to respond to the recently launched, and long fought for, government review of the UK Designs Legal Framework and send us your copycat case studies using the template provided; we need your voice to push for change.