How to Protect Your Designs

How to stop copycat designers from stealing your work

In light of World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) 2018, we ask designers and IP professionals their advice for graduates on how to protect their work from copyright infringement.

“Creating a proactive, preventative IP strategy is a good first step. IP isn’t rocket science!

Firstly, become IP savvy. This means: knowing and understanding the laws that protect you; registering your designs, remembering that UK and European Union (EU) registration authorities don’t examine applications, so what you submit is what you rely on; and ensuring you have agreements in place for collaborative design projects.

Secondly, if you can’t afford registration, my organisation Anti-Copying in Design (ACID) offers access to an online IP Databank for copyright and unregistered designs providing a safe, uniquely numbered certificate to record each stage of your design process. This is all crucial evidence for any designer.

Thirdly, watch the competition. Trademark your brand name if you can; the more you build up your reputation under your brand, the stronger protection you will have.

Next, shout loudly about your IP ownership. If you don’t want to be copied, say so with a simple, IP deterrent statement running through every page on your website. ACID can help with this.

Finally, encourage respect, compliance and respect of your own IP and demand it from others.

Usually only good ideas get copied – but imitation isn’t flattery if it costs you your business.”

“The first point is to know the law. There’s a concise and simple guide from the Government online in the intellectual property section. What’s most relevant to designers just starting out is the impact your employment status has on your right to claim copyright, so take 10 minutes to get your head around it now.

Secondly, if you feel your copyright has been infringed, you must be able to explain yourself clearly. This is one of the many reasons that great design has strategy behind it – strategy ensures you can frame your design explanation in objective rather than subjective terms, and clarify why you designed what you did, how you did.”

“Protecting your precious design is, in equal measure, as important as having created your precious design in the first place. Creation without protection means it isn’t just yours, but could easily become someone else’s right under your nose. If you think IP sounds boring, legalistic and too much like red tape, think again. It will be even more boring and legalistic if you end up in court trying to untangle someone having infringed upon your rights. There are plenty of experienced people who can help, so I advise going to them. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) can advise on registering your designs, and ACID provides membership for designers and also campaigns for their intellectual property rights.”

By Sarah Dawood

Full Article: www.designweek.co.uk