ACID MEMBER CALL TO ACTION

We need YOUR evidence to persuade Government to change the LAW post Brexit to support UDR

Do your bit to help try and make the intentional copying of an unregistered design a crime to add a strong deterrent factor

Please just read through ACID's concerns below and then take 4 minutes to complete this multiple choice survey.

·         Since 2014 when the intentional infringement of a registered design was made a crime, Anti Copying in Design (ACID) has been trying to gather evidence to push for the same for unregistered design infringement to act as a real deterrent against infringement.

·         Why? Because the majority of UK and ACID members rely on EU and UK unregistered design rights. With the uncertainty surrounding what is going to happen concerning Brexit – deal or no deal after March 2019, this is event most important.

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, first publication / exhibiting of a design or product must have taken place in an EU member state

·         As from 1 April 2019 the UK will not be an EU member state.

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* 1. Please enter your name and company name (if applicable) in confidence

Name

Company

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* 2. Please enter the following information

Annual Company Turnover

Number of Employees

Estimated annual loss through design infringement

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* 3. Have you discovered copies of your designs/products?

Yes

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* 4. Where are these copies available?

Retail Outlets

Online Platforms

Both

Not Applicable

Other (please specify)

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* 5. What kind of copying do you experience?

The whole design/product

Features of the design/product

Both

Not Applicable

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* 6. Have you registered any of the designs that have been copied?

Registered in the UK

Registered in the EU

Registered in other territories

No Registrations

If No, how do you protect any unregistered design right that may subsist?

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* 7. Do you lodge your designs with the ACID IP Databank?

Yes

If No, why not?

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* 8. Have you ever used legal proceedings to take action in respect of designs/products that have been copied?

Yes

If you answered Yes, please indicate in which jurisdiction and in which Courts you have litigated

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* 9. For those that have litigated please rate your satisfaction with the following;

	Bad	Fairly Bad	Fair	Fairly Good	Good	N/A
The Court Process	The Court Process Bad	The Court Process Fairly Bad	The Court Process Fair	The Court Process Fairly Good	The Court Process Good	The Court Process N/A
The Outcome of the Case	The Outcome of the Case Bad	The Outcome of the Case Fairly Bad	The Outcome of the Case Fair	The Outcome of the Case Fairly Good	The Outcome of the Case Good	The Outcome of the Case N/A

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* 10. Did you know that deliberate copying of a registered design is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in prison?

Yes

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* 11. Would criminal sanctions influence your decision on whether or not to seek registered design protection?

Yes

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* 12. Do you think criminal sanctions should be applied to the deliberate copying of an unregistered design?

Yes

Not sure

If you are not sure briefly comment why.