66 As we begin 2026, many of us will be reflecting on the previous year and looking ahead to designing, promoting, selling and building our brands and businesses. For the creative community, 2025 was notably formative and active, proving to be the year of consultation on key areas affecting designers’ and creatives’ futures. In February 2025, the Government launched the AI and Copyright consultation; a subject close to both copyright creators’ and designers’ hearts alike. This consultation received an unprecedented reaction of over 11,000 responses. At the time of writing, nearly a year later, the government is silent on this issue. Most notably, and concerningly, AI continues to grow exponentially and scrape data without restraint, question or any guardrails. For copyright creators – photographers, illustrators, graphic designers, writers and musicians – the threats to IP content continues to grow. ACID’s voice is consistent, creators’ work should not be used by AI for generative training without recompense, attribution and transparency. Fast forward to 4th September 2025 and the long-awaited government Design Consultation was released; for which ACID spent over a decade campaigning. Following the 2022 Calls for Views, the Government design consultation is aimed at simplifying overlapping IP rights, tackling design theft, and will support the approximately 80,000 creative and design businesses. Its objective is to modernise and simplify IP protection for digital innovation and address post-Brexit challenges. It will also provide lone, micro and small businesses access to justice to address a copycat culture which poses an existential threat to the livelihoods of innovative designers and is not only chilling for innovation but disincentivises individual designers to continue to create. Copying is rife and showing no sign of slowing. From greetings card designers’ images used by copycats unashamedly and without permission on TEMU to novel gift designs being copied by Goliath retailers; the giftware industry knows all too well the perils of having valuable work stolen. ACID’s position is clear; design law must be affordable, accessible and enforceable. We want to see equal rights; better, more affordable and simpler enforcement options for SMEs and the Government supporting the creative economy by introducing harsher penalties on Goliath copycats. ACID has consistently called on the Government to heed calls to create a fair, cost and time efficient legal system strengthened by robust deterrence with capability. This must be underpinned by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) frameworks that genuinely support UK design to curb insidious copycat practices, which have severe financial implications, inhibit growth and cause job losses. Imitation is not flattery if it costs livelihoods and stifles innovation The design consultation may have ended on 27th November 2025 but the fight for designers’ futures remains. Whilst the government digests the multitude of feedback and submissions it will have received, our creative community must continue to fight for design law reform. Copying ruins businesses and damages the UK’s economy. For the giftware industry, creating robust deterrence to copycats and stringent IP strategies is a must to protect this vital part of our UK’s creativity. A united voice is a stronger voice and it’s up to us as a collective force to ensure that, whilst it won’t go away, it isn’t gotten away with. Beyond consultation From voices to action, Dids Macdonald OBE., Co-Founder & Chairman, Director of Public Affairs, Campaigning & IP Policy for ACID, looks at designing the future together To find out more, visit www.acid.uk.com
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