December 2017

One for the record books..

Well we finally got there and launched the Intellectual Property Protection Register campaign for SBID members all around the world. It will provide the missing step of existing law; enforcement. You can’t have enforcement without the law in place but the law without enforcement is not much help either.

SBID Intellectual property

The Society of British and International Design (SBID) was launched with the intention of this step. To get there was a journey and a half of industry resistance from a few, alongside amazing support where none was expected from others. As a Designer, when I’m copied I should be asked and of course, in most cases when bad intent is evident, I won’t be, but as a manufacturer or a business development idea, to copy a commercial idea is illegal. That is great but nobody has the manpower to enforce the law, I mean not the police, not the enforcing agencies and certainly not the rights owners, those with the idea to create money form their commercial ideas.

Image – Leo Telling, BBC, Peter O’Doherty, Detective Chief Superintendent, City of London Police; Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, SBID; Tony Nash TM Eye Ltd

The legislation was in place without enforcement. So what did anyone in the industry do with the legislation? The answer is that without resources, detective capabilities and training they were unable to achieve any results from the legislation at all.

Now we will enforce the law that exists alongside our partner TM-Eye, the investigators and covert detective teams that have gathered enough evidence to accrue more than 50% more criminal convictions than the Trading Standards office achieved in 2016. That’s is a huge accreditation in itself. Imagine together what we can do to clean up the design sector!  When we have the interior design sector programme tested and running smoothly, TM-Eye will expand this pilot scheme across the music, radio, TV and writer’s sectors. TM-Eye have been bringing cases against criminals for the past seven years. After piloting their criminal investigations in the fashion and pharmaceutical industry with huge success they have authority to add their convictions to the Police Criminal Computer – the only agency outside of the Police Authorities to possess such access.

From left to right; Giles Bark. Bark & Co Solicitors; Harold Tillman CBE; Leo Telling, BBC, Peter O’Doherty, Detective Chief Superintendent, City of London Police

This initiative is  a true collaboration with enforcement agencies too, as around the world TM-Eye  have achieved huge success through their covert operations (undercover and detective surveillance) and with their unimaginable agreements with the types of enforcement government and private agencies around the world no other agency or private company could achieve, they are wholly unique. They have the ability to shut down websites, to shut down bank accounts, to issue court summons, to carry out detective research around the world in all levels and price-points of criminal conduct and with evidence obtained, gain convictions and imprisonment of criminals.

This is an amazing opportunity for the interior design world to come together and obtain the enforcement they are unable or financially unwilling to pursue. We will simply obtain authority for pursuance of a suspected crime and then bring about the criminal conviction against the thieves. I am personally very excited about this. I can track footprints and bring to justice the individuals that have duplicated my commercial ideas and gained financial reward by it – while I have competed against my own ideas – and now I am going to enforce criminal proceedings where applicable. We have to make a start somewhere; evidence and tenacity is what is needed. TM-Eye will provide enforcement for SBID members free of charge. They receive payment from the Courts and the treasury receives payment from taxed sales rather than cash off record sales. In some cases, the licence holders for whom TM-Eye may act may not want to be involved, but if the enforcement and investigations are completed free of charge, it would be supported. So…. now it is!

You can read much about the IP Register in the months ahead through the awareness campaign run across social media and in the SBID publication; eSociety and the National press. To register your ideas for enforcement and recovery free of charge or to buy into the full paying service which includes registration with SBID and TM-Eye partners in the project; the Intellectual Property Office, Trading Standards Office the Patent Office and global sourcing for enforcement checking and protection, or £100 per registration p.a. just register your interest at admin@sbid.org.