Attire Accessories - Nov/Dec 2018 (Issue 73)

60 STAY INFORMED Dids Macdonald offers her tips and advice on keeping up-to-date with intellectual property Why is IP important for growth? Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the ‘B’ word, designing and making is flying high in the UK so it is a good place to be. Did you know that the design sector as a whole punches above its weight and its value has grown consistently over two decades generating £85.2bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK in 2016. This is seven per cent of the UK’s GVA. Between 2009 and 2016 the GVA of the design economy grew by 52 per cent. In 2016, there were 1.69m people employed in design roles, and there are 78,030 design- intensive firms. The ‘intellectual capital’ of the sector cannot be under-estimated. It is a critical asset to our future economic success. It is the DNA running through most creative businesses, whether micro or macro. Its influence is a palpable presence in the work of individuals and design teams. When Intellectual property (IP) is devalued then this becomes a challenge to the sustainability of the design sector. IP is but one component of the intellectual capital of a design business, often described as the intangible value of a business. IP is about respecting people (human capital) and their corporate endeavours. Brexit – deal or no deal Our extensive research has confirmed the majority of UK designers rely on unregistered EU and UK designs. This is a worrying prospect with, as yet, no position from the Government. When the UK leaves the EU it will no longer be possible for UK designers, whose designs are first exhibited in the UK, to claim the EU design right protection in the other 27-member states of the EU. This is because in order for the EU right to come into being in the first place, this first publication/exhibiting must have taken place in an EU member state. As from 1 st April, 2019 the UK will not be an EU member state. If you would like to make your MP aware, please contact us at ACID and join our campaign to help UK designers have clarity and certainty at info@acid.uk.com What can you do in the meantime? Design registration is an obvious answer to design protection and enforcement. A UK or EU registered design is a monopoly right lasting 25 years. So, hurry now and Brexit-proof your designs because if you have a registered EU design with protection in 27 other member states the Government have committed to providing similar protection. You can register a design so long as it is basically different to anything already on the market, i.e. that it has distinctive character, that it hasn’t been copied from another design and it is not obscene. Trade Marks – a change in the law from January, 2019 A trade mark, brand or name by which you are known and under which your reputation sits is one of the most important IP rights you can rely on, so it is important to get it right. On 14 th January there are some vital changes. As the law will change it is good to get ahead of the game so that you know about essential things such as the representation of your trade mark when registering, guarding against counterfeiting and procedures associated with infringement. Don’t forget too that if you are unlucky enough to experience online infringement none of the search engines, online marketplaces or social media sites will take copyists down without a registered trade mark. All new changes are summarised in helpful guidelines from our friends the Intellectual Property Office. If you google ‘Implementation of the EU Trade Mark Directive’ you will find all the help you will need.