AI and IP – what’s the latest? ACID brings industry leaders together with Legal Affiliates to discuss AI in IP and Employment Processes
Opening the event, ACID Chairman and Co-founder Dids Macdonald OBE., highlighted the long-awaited UK Design Consultation, for which ACID has campaigned for more than a decade. Dids stressed concerns regarding the current framework, stating, “The current framework remains too cumbersome for designers and I question how AI and data mining will impact creators’ rights, transparency and protection against infringement on online marketplaces”.
Robert Lands of Howard Kennedy examined the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding AI and IP, including the UK Government’s recent Copyright and AI report, the implications of data mining, and significant cases such as Getty v Stability AI and Disney & Universal v Midjourney. He emphasised the importance of transparency and labelling in future AI legislation. Robert said, “The principles that should underpin future AI Legislation include transparency (this is about being transparent about what has been used to train the AI model) and labelling- making it clear when AI has been used to create a product. Although this can be difficult to determine, as AI can be used to create an output to varying extents”.
Anti Copying in Design Ltd (ACID) is a trade association for designers and manufacturers with a diverse membership ranging from individuals to multinationals and spanning many industry sectors. ACID is committed to fighting design theft and lobbying Parliament for design and intellectual property (IP) law reform. Members have many free benefits, including access to specialist IP legal affiliates for initial free advice and unlimited, free use of the ACID IP Databank to help protect their IP Rights. ACID’s key objectives are protection, deterrence, education, working towards a safer commercial trading framework, enabling originators to fully exploit and maximise their IP rights.
Pledge your support to Respect, Ethics, and Compliance in IP by signing our ACID IP Charter.
Photograph: L-R: Phil Spademan, Director, British Furniture Association (BFA); Liz Bell, President, British Institute of Interior Design (BIID); Robert Lands, Partner & Head of IP and Commercial, Howard Kennedy LLP; Alexandra Mizzi, Legal Director, Howard Kennedy LLP; Mark McCormack, Managing Director, Talking Tables; Dids Macdonald OBE, Co-Founder and Chairman, ACID; Jessica Alexander, Master, Furniture Makers’ Company; Sophie Cooney, Founder, Sophie Cooney Runners.
