PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION: Authentic Design Alliance Campaign
During 2016-17, the Federal Government commissioned an independent inquiry by the Productivity Commission (PCIP) into Australian Intellectual Property protection.
The PCIP draft report (April 2016) invited written submissions by early June and issued an open call for public-hearing appearances in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Despite a steep learning curve, the ADA invested 8 weeks in collating 45 testimonials and case studies from a range of industries. We aimed to show how design theft and replica furniture crushes the growth of the local industry.
Our survey included case studies by industrial designers, independent design studios, furniture designers and brands, importers and distributors, manufacturers and design journalists, supported by industry associations DIA Design Institute Australia and Good Design Australia.
“The design industry should follow the music industry model, as well as the model of writing and authorship and other creative industries such as architecture, through free copyright protection”
TOMEK ARCHER, Productivity Commission hearing Canberra
Local and imported lighting designs are savaged by counterfeiters in Australia (Image courtesy Australian Financial Review)
The ADA presented 25 written submissions and coordinated 10 appearances at public hearings in Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne. Our message was clear: IP protection is out of step with similar laws in the UK and now in New Zealand.
As part of our campaign, representatives from Space Furniture, CULT, and Top3 by Design joined designers Adam Goodrum, David Trubridge, Tomek Archer, Nick Rennie, Tom Skeehan, and Nick Rennie, along with the DIA and Good Design Australia, to appear at public hearings.
Our campaign focused on three core issues:
- Criminalise replica furniture – Australia is now the dumping ground for counterfeit designer products, and the replica market is causing immeasurable damage to the growth of our industry
- The word ‘replica’ misleads customers – the word is a loophole that endorses design theft
- Design protection in Australia is inadequate: registered designs are protected for a maximum of 10 years (5+5), and no automatic copyright applies to furniture and lighting. Yet in 2016, the UK aligned with Europe by extending copyright for the life of the designer plus 70 years (life + 70) and extending design registrations to 25 years.
PCIP PUBLIC HEARINGS – JUNE 2016 // transcript links
- Sydney // Authentic Design Alliance (Anne-Maree Sargeant), DIA Design Institute of Australia (Bradley Schott), SPACE Furniture (Jon Holland), CULT (Richard Munao), Tomek Archer – pp 226-285
- Canberra // Top3 by Design (Terri Winter), Adam Goodrum. Tom Skeehan, Tom Fereday, David Trubridge, Tomek Archer – pp 373-411
- Melbourne // Nick Rennie – pp 712-719
“Citing a lack of ’empirical evidence’ that the Australian furniture industry suffers financial loss to replicas and copies the commissioners made no recommendations to outlaw replicas”
THE PCIP REPORT + WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
The Productivity Commission PCIP report was tabled in September 2016 and published by the Federal Government in December 2016, inviting public reply by February 19, 2017.
In short, the PCIP report felt that consumers have the right to a cheaper copy of an original design.
DOWNLOAD PCIP REPORT (700 pages)
OUR RESPONSE TO THE PCIP REPORT
ADA PCIP CAMPAIGN INCLUDED CASE STUDIES & TESTIMONIALS FROM:
- Tomek Archer/architect, furniture designer
- Nick Rennie/independent designer
- Terri Winter/Top 3 by design retailer
- Mark Swanton/KE-ZU (furniture distributor)
- Kate Stokes /Coco Flip independent design studio
- Christopher Boots /independent lighting brand
- Anne-Maree Sargeant/Authentic Design Alliance
- Jon Holland/ Space Furniture (importer)
- Richard Munao/Cult Design (importer, manufacturer)
- Dr Brandon Gien/Good Design Australia, CEO
- David Trubridge /lighting designer, global brand (NZ)
- Ross Gardam/independent design brand
- ISM Objects/lighting brand
- Thinking Works / Australian commercial furniture
