Hi All,
Spurred by a current thread, I thought I'd post this:
ACID (http://acid.eu.com/)
If you have a design/designs you think are worth protecting, these guys are great.
And very, very tenacious.
Sean
We used them for our racks Brilliant ! ;)
I register all of my Mojo and Indugence Boxes with these guys, very helpful and friendly chaps.
Quote from: MangoBeads on July 10, 2009, 04:22:21 PM
We used them for our racks Brilliant ! ;)
Im intrigued by this Manda.. by registering your bead racks does that mean that no one is allowed to make bead racks of a similar size/dimensions from clear acrylic?
Quote from: fionaess on July 19, 2009, 04:44:55 PM
Quote from: MangoBeads on July 10, 2009, 04:22:21 PM
We used them for our racks Brilliant ! ;)
Im intrigued by this Manda.. by registering your bead racks does that mean that no one is allowed to make bead racks of a similar size/dimensions from clear acrylic?
Hi Fiona
This is really my partners baby and our designs are being registered at the moment, we are in the process of developing our paper trail and Acid as an organisation are very good.
But I think no ( anyone else ? ) is the answer to your question, to that you would have to Patent / Copywright to achieve that protection but it does give you design protection which if you found yourself in a sticky situation will help and they as an organisation will help with that protection – The ACID Design Data Bank provides proof of the ownership and creation of a design. You develop a paper trail to identify the design to you .
'QUOTE'
The ACID Design Data Bank provides members with independent evidence of the date of their design's creation. This evidence begins from the date the design is received by ACID. Evidence of this kind may become important when attempting to establish the date that a design was created, for example, if it is challenged in court. It should be noted that the ACID Design Data bank gives no additional legal rights to those that may already exist. Lodging copies of designs with ACID is different to officially registering designs with the UK Patent Office Design Registry or the European Community Design Registry at OHIM (The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) which will give you additional rights.
I'm not really up to speed on it but himself said it was a must and we have found them very helpful.
Thanks for the info Manda... sounds like a very useful organisation.
I am a little unsure as to what ACID can provide that sending the same papertrail to yourself via recorded deliver would not?
Ultimately it comes down to finding a way to verify WHEN you came up with the design, in the event that you chose to challenge someone in court. Surely that is as easy to do by yourself as through some other organisation, or am I missing something else that they offer?
The only real protection to a design is via a Patent (but even then you would need to pay through the nose to protect your asset) and besides, designs considered too generic or everyday would not gain a patent anyway. It would be quite hard to get a patent for a bookshelf, or a tea-cup or drawing easel or whatever unless your version of it really was quite substantially different to those already out there.
Emma
Thanks for posting this, Emma, I've been mulling over this myself - I've been thinking about registering my jewellery cake toppers, but then wasn't sure what actual protection ACID would bring. I have a paper trail from printing postcards, business cards, etc., so I can prove designs were around at that point ???
Prooving you had the design first is the easy part. You have an automatic copyright on anything you make from the moment of its creation. You just need to prove it and you don't really need anyone else's help with that. But even so, one must be realistic and realise that with very generic, especially functional, designs - seredipity happens all the time.
The hard part is enforcing it when you think your copyright has been violated - or rather affording to.
Even when you are in the right and can prove it, it often comes down to which side has more money to invest in legal fees. And say you get it wrong? Say the courts didn't see the copy as a copy, or heaven forbid the other person coud also proove that they had the same idea before you, coincidently - you would end up with their legal fees as well as your own to pay!
That said, I have in the past had to threaten legal action, and no empty gesture either as I would have happily followed through come what may. Because where there is a flagrant breech of a copyright or someone is trying to pass off their work as yours, you have to defend your designs and I am certainly not afraid to do that. But you have to be circumspect about these things and only fight the battles that really matter.
Emma
Hi Emma
I think all your points are very good and no I dont think you are missing anything else acid might offer - but I do think that the ACID logo is a very good deterrant to woodbe copiers and that in itself I consider a good investment . the whole patent copywright issue is a minefield and believe me I have looked into it - but at the end of the day a logo that can give off the right message is better than nothing. ;)
I must admit, I haven't spent a great deal looking around their site - and if it offers people peace of mind, then I am sure that must be a good thing for those people.
I was rather concerned though that people maybe would think registering a design with organisations such as this offers them any more protection than they would normally have, because from what I can tell, it won't. Although having access to info all in one place, templates for NDAs and such probably is of value to some people.
What I am not sure about though is how much all this costs?
If it is small change, then fair enough - it might be worth it to use their logo merely as a statement that the artist supports the Anti-copying ethic. In the same way we use the SRA logo. But I am not all that sure as to how much real deterent it would provide. Seems to me, those that copy know darn well what they are doing and wouldn't give a monkeys. Besides what is to stop the copiers also joining ACID too and claiming other people's existing designs as their own and registering them?
I don't mean to piddle on anyone's strawberries, I really don't. I just genuinely cannot see the advantage to registering designs with these people unless it were free. And even then, I would still probably just continue with my existing methods.
If there are other, genuine services they offer - such as legal advice, insurance against being sued, active campaigning for artists or whatever for the subs money, fair enough. But if they are just charging people money to keep a register of their designs then I think there are just better things to spend money on and it seems they are playing on people's fears rather than just arming them with tools to protect themselves, which is easy to do.
That is why my question about is that all they do wasn't a flippant one. I genuinely can't tell easily from their website exactly what it is they are offering and how much money they are charging for it.
Emma
Yea it took me a while to find out costs and under 50K turnover looks like £125 a year plus £25 joining fee and VAT on top. Suppose its a bit like insurance but first glance also looks like an increase on overheads.
Ian
Quote from: Ian R Pearson on July 29, 2009, 10:41:29 PM
Yea it took me a while to find out costs and under 50K turnover looks like £125 a year plus £25 joining fee and VAT on top. Suppose its a bit like insurance but first glance also looks like an increase on overheads.
Ian
Ouch!
I am sure I am being dumb, but still not sure exactly what that buys you. I will try to have a better look at the website tomorrow and take more time to read it all through. I don't want to be unfairly critical if they are actually offering a service of value. Just for me, for that money, it would need to be more than a simple register to deposit your design and use of their logo.
Emma