Preparing for change – 12th Dec 2016

In late May 2016 the UK government finally decided on a start or commencement date for the new UK copyright law of the 28th of July 2016, and since then we have been inundated with telephone calls from customers expressing concern on how the industry will be adapting to the new rules.

So let's be clear … this new law does NOT apply to all reproductions … all companies can still reproduce furniture, and the most commonly quoted example of this is that of the iconic Chesterfield Sofa which is reproduced by hundreds of companies throughout the world, but because the design is over 70 years old and does not enjoy "Artistic Craftsmanship status", it can still be reproduced or copied by anyone and sold in the UK and the EU completely unaffected by these new rules.

In fact there are thousands of furniture designs where "Artistic Craftsmanship" status does not apply - and that is the crux of the problem – no one knows exactly which designs qualify, and which do not.

During the last four years we have not been sitting idly by doing nothing. We have travelled the world visiting trade shows looking for products which already exist that, whilst similar in style are not reproductions of iconic designs and so can be offered as perfectly legal alternatives in the years to come.

The good news is that similar products already existed on the world market and these are selling for a fraction of the price of the big design houses products, so as the UK changes to alternative designs we expect these new products will take centre stage.

Here are some of the alternative designs we are now offering to fill the gaps left when products with "Artistic Craftsmanship status" cease to be available here in the UK:

Iconic designs:		Alternatives:
Cassina Le Corbusier Sofa £6150		Brooklyn Sofa from £599
Vitra Eames chair £233		Ooland Eiffel chair from £38
Aram's Eileen Grey table £489		Pretty coffee table from £120
Fritz Hansen PK61 table £3,060		Cubis glass coffee table from £207
Vitra Noguchi coffee table £1,324		Manx coffee table from £249
Eames RAR rocking chair £424		Amy rocking chair from £44
Fritz Hansen Egg Chair £4,620		Steijer Egg Chair from £450
Eames Lounge Chair £6,000		Senater Lounge Chair £688
Knoll Barcelona Chair £5,232		Seville Lounge Chair £411
Vitra Eames Soft Pad Chair £2,500		Clip Soft Pad Chair £454

So all is not lost

You can still buy good quality, design led products at affordable prices and even mix them in together with originals without spoiling the visual.

Don't forget that all these products were always available before this year, it's just that they were not the subjects of big advertising spends by us and others - but you can bet they are now!

Sourcing iconic products abroad

And finally……….. don't forget that Scott Howard operates worldwide and these new rules only apply to our sales from the UK office. Indeed, our offices in Dublin, Hong Kong, Dubai and Moscow are completely unaffected by these new rules and they can still supply high quality reproductions 100% legally.

Yours faithfully

Scott Appleton
Managing Director