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AUTHENTIC DESIGN ALLIANCE®

HELP STOP DESIGN THEFT!

Authentic Design Alliance is a member-funded association that exists to promote the value of investing in original furniture, lighting and interior products in the fight against design theft.

Europe and Britain criminalised 'replica' designs, the UK levelling fines of up to £50,000 or 10 years jail, backdating copyright law to cover the design icons previously savaged by the replica industry.

Original designs are copyright protected in Europe for the lifetime of the designer plus 70 years after their death (life plus 70).

"A successful product employs a network.
A successful collection creates a sub-economy"

Meanwhile, Australia has no automatic copyright protection for furniture, unlike music, film, music, literature, art, photography or other creative disciplines!

As an education platform we support designers, manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers of authentic products by advocating for radically improved Intellectual Property (IP) protection.

ADA members enable our program of talks, workshops and events to inform consumers and design professionals about the importance of investing in authentic products.

Discover more about ADA membership here (or here if on mobile / device)

Lets get real.

6 Facts About Design Theft.

1.

THE WORD REPLICA IS CONFUSING CONSUMERS

Replicas are NOT connected to the original designer or brand licensed to make the work.
Replica is mistaken to be a trend like ‘Vintage’ or ‘Industrial’ vs designs stolen from authorised brands. We need to get real!
Replica is fake. Replica is design theft.

2.

DESIGNERS EARN THEIR INCOME FROM SALES ROYALTIES

Industrial and furniture designers work solo in small studios or as designer-makers. Design theft robs them of a rightful income, royalties - a small percentage of net sales.
Independent designers can’t afford expensive legal battles, even if their work is design registered.

3.

DESIGN THEFT DAMAGES THE ENTIRE DESIGN ECONOMY

Buying copies and replicas hurts more than the designer - the entire design economy is affected - the brands, retailers, manufacturers, makers and importers invested in authentic design.
Counterfeit design threatens the future growth of Australia’s furnishing industry.

4.

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS DON’T KNOW WHAT IS REAL OR FAKE

Compared to Europe, Australia lacks an embedded design culture. Most consumers don’t know what’s real and what’s fake and our government can’t see a problem.
Education is critical to understand the value of original design, so we can make informed buying decisions.

5.

"DISPOSABLE DECORATING" FEEDS LANDFILL, IT'S UNSUSTAINABLE!

Buying the cheapest option equates replacing a product 10 or more times compared to investing in an original product that will last a lifetime.
We must choose well, buy once and invest in ethically made products.
Buy objects we value, care for, and keep.

6.

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ARE A HUGE PART OF THE PROBLEM

Many interior design and building professionals don’t know, or worse, don’t care about what’s real and what’s fake!
Australian businesses profit by knocking off local designs. Design theft by professionals hurts the entire industry and devalues their projects!

JOIN THE ADA

BECOME A MEMBER

ADA Members enable our program

As an education platform, we strive for a shift cultural change in buyer behaviour by spotlighting how objects are made, why they exist and why we all must invest in products we care about, value and don't throw away.

As a member-funded association - membership fees directly fund our activity. Join now and help stop design theft!

> WHAT MEMBERSHIP IS RIGHT FOR ME?

> OR HEAD HERE // if on a phone or tablet

6 REASONS TOJOIN THE ADA

LATEST NEWS

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The heart of the problem when building industry professionals swap the original furniture and lighting on projects for blatant knock-offs has been succinctly [...]

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