56 At the start of 2026, ACID and The Giftware Association (The GA) announced their partnership, uniting in the fight against copycats and pledging togetherness in intellectual property (IP) respect, ethics and compliance throughout the invaluable UK creative industry of gifting and giftware. For 20 years, ACID and The GA have navigated the choppy waters of IP and copying alongside each other; now they join forces to strengthen the support, advice and collective voice for the UK’s giftware industry. Dids Macdonald OBE., ACID’s Co-founder and Chair said, “The Giftware Association has been the beating pulse of the sector for many years, championing the excellence of the UK gift and home industry. By aligning with ACID, two trusted partners come together as a powerful force, united in protecting originality, creativity, and design integrity.” With design theft still a significant issue affecting creators, and especially with the exponential rise in copies of giftware on online platforms such as TEMU, the collaboration between ACID and The GA brings a significant new layer of support at a time when safeguarding creative originality is both essential and necessary. With respect to platforms such as TEMU, the gifting industry has been hit particularly hard. Many readers will remember the Spring Fair and TEMU debacle in 2025, which sent shockwaves through the gifting industry and wider creative community as whole. Since then, ACID and TEMU have positively engaged with quarterly meetings, attended by ACID members, and continual dialogue to push for improvements to IP infringements, report and take down processes and repeat offenders on their platform. Results are already being seen but there is still a long road ahead, and ACID welcome the gifting industry to join us on this vital journey to IP compliance and respect online. More recently, following over a decade of relentless campaigning by ACID, the Design Consultation closed at the end of November 2025. ACID’s submission called for greater enforcement of IP rights, support for small businesses and the criminalisation of unregistered design rights – upon which so many UK designers rely – to tackle the blatant copying experienced by so many, not least in the gifting industry which too often falls victim to cheap imitations and shameless copycats. After all, when copying has no downside, it inevitably flourishes. Laura Newbold Breen, ACID CEO, said, “It’s fantastic to have The Giftware Association join the ranks of ACID’s invaluable partners; a team of exceptional organisations committed to IP support for their members which is growing by the day. ACID is all too aware of the challenges faced by our UK giftware industry, not least through the extensive copying on online platforms, and together we can ensure this significant portion of the UK economy is equipped with IP resources to protect their businesses.” Through this groundbreaking partnership between ACID and The GA, our voices grow ever stronger and IP support and respect disseminates into many more corners of the UK’s creative industries: vibrant, indispensable, and globally influential. The gift that keeps on giving Laura Newbold Breen, CEO ACID, shares more about ACID’s partnership with the Giftware Association, and empowering the giftware industry To find out more, visit www.acid.uk.com
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