The first event of the new forum “DESIGN LAW - The ACID Test” hosted by Taylors Commercial lawyers was held appropriately at the contemporary ARTZU gallery in Manchester.

Giving practical and legal advice on the hot topic of design infringement the event was attended by creatives from the fields of design, fashion, home furnishings and software designers - all affected by copycats.

Well known leading copyright and design lawyer Tony Catterall, a name to be feared by all infringers, lead the expert speakers with illustrations on the law from his major high profile design cases including the ground breaking House of Lords Case where he was successful for Tricia Guilds Designers Guild , who are no longer troubled by plagiarists as a result!

Tony Attard OBE , the founder and CEO of Home furnishings Group Panaz , worldwide suppliers to the Hospitality and Leisure Cruise ship and Healthcare sectors and spokesman of the British Contract Furnishers association spoke passionately about how he handled barefaced theft of his designs for hotels in the US , and how others tried to steal his flame retardancy concepts.

The event was also supported by ACID ( Ant Copying in Design) CEO Dids Macdonald OBE who came literally hot foot with news from attending the “Trunki “Case being heard in the Supreme Court (an ACID member) . Dids co-founded ACID because her own products were consistently copied and today represents thousands of designers within the creative industries and gave valuable advice on the merits of creating a pro-active IP strategy to prevent copying and support growth.

Chris Hart of Hallis Hudson commented, The Acid Test provided real insight into the world of IP, getting the message across in an easy to understand way which is the real key to making things work within a business.

With the success of the ACID TEST - DESIGN LAW keep a look out in the new year for future related events!