Hardware brand Armac Martin has signed the Anti Copying In Design (ACID) IP Charter, after acknowledging its product designs have been subject to “blatant imitation” in recent years.
ACID is an organisation dedicated to fighting intellectual property theft in design. It offers assistance and recourse to designers to ensure that their rights to product design ownership are upheld.
According to ACID, designers or businesses who sign its IP Charter are committed to taking a stance against unlawful copying in design, as well as affirming their support for promoting intellectual property rights.
In a LinkedIn post announcing the news, Richard McGrail, Armac Martin CEO, said: “Over recent years, Armac Martin designs have increasingly been subject to blatant imitation, being manufactured in factories overseas leading to lower quality replica products trying to enter the luxury residential sector both here in the UK and across North America, with many of these designs being marketed as ‘original’.
“We are extremely proud to produce our own authentic designs, and have been expertly crafting them in the heart of England from the highest quality solid brass since 1929, and these imitation products will never have the same level of beauty and authenticity as our own pieces.
“We are proud to be a member of ACID, promoting the value and importance of protecting original design and British manufacturing.”
Armac Martin was the subject of a supplier profile in the May 2024 issue of kbbreview Magazine, where CEO Richard McGrail discussed his plans to use the brand’s products to “create excitement in the industry”.
