Dids Macdonald OBE on Establishing ACID
Behind every design is a person. And as Dids reminded me so clearly, it’s imperative that we protect the humans at the core of every business.
On British IP day on the 2nd of July, I’m so excited to spotlight Dids Macdonald OBE, Co-Founder and Chairman of Anti Copying in Design (ACID), the UK’s leading advocacy group for designers IP rights.
Brynn: Why don’t we start with what motivated you to start ACID?
Dids: I was originally an interior designer and then a product designer. Unfortunately every time I created a new product range, it was copied by big major retailers which was hugely disappointing. So I decided to do something about it - I got about 12 co-designers together and we would meet every week.
Eventually we managed to get some funding and I guess the rest is history. That was over 25 years ago and now we are the major design and IP organisation in the UK.
Brynn: How incredible! Can you tell me about the core offering of ACID? I’m obviously well familiar with it, but it would be great to hear how you define it!
Dids: That’s one thing that hasn’t changed. We decided on our pillars all those years ago: Education and Awareness, Prevention, Support, and Campaigning. We made our branding to be in deterrent colours, yellow and black, and it’s available to all our members.
The other day when I was on holiday I saw some wonderful things in a heritage shop - and every single one of those products had an ACID label.
We offer legal resources, templates, and guidance from our affiliates. And we spearhead legal reform; one notable example was the IP Act in 2014, which criminalised the intentional infringement of a registered design.
Brynn: There’s a lot of fear that can come up with taking on a big retailer that has copied your design - What advice do you have for designers and manufacturers preparing to take on a copier?
Dids: With the advent of social media brands are much more frightened about reputational damage. It invites the design community in whatever sector to say “Hang on - this isn’t right.” Because we’ve got so much experience with this at ACID, we can choose the right language so a lone designer won’t be sued for making what are called groundless threats. Sometimes people respond really positively and say, “We’re very sorry - we understand the similarities”. So there are people who adhere to corporate social responsibility out there.
Brynn: My last and favourite question - how can people support or get involved with ACID?
Dids: Well, there’s one very easy way and that’s by signing our ACID IP charter. It supports ethics, integrity, compliance, and respect for intellectual property. Anybody can sign this - designer, inventor, creator, or anyone who believes in supporting intellectual property rights!
And, if you are a designer or manufacturer, we are a membership community with great resources for businesses at different levels
Brynn: I’ll interject to second how valuable the membership has been for me!
Dids: Thank you!