Meet the Maker: Legal and intellectual property for small businesses

As part of the Crafts Council's Meet the Maker series of events providing support to craft businesses, this overview covers a wide range of the legal issues that you might encounter including GDPR, copyright, invoices, contracts, insurance and risk assessments.

We have summarised some of Alex Fewtrell’s key recommendations for protecting your business.

Copyright
Intellectual property and copyright related to the original, artistic craftsmanship of your practice.

Design Right
Unregistered design rights - automatically protects the shape of work and configuration (how different parts of a design are arranged together) of object.

Registered Design
Protects two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional work that is new and novel. It needs to be registered within 12 of first showing your product and has to be renewed every 5 years.

Trade Marks
Protects brand names, needs to be distinctive and cannot describe the goods or services it provides. Trade marks need to be renewed every 10 years.

Terms and Conditions

This is an overall statement, contracts are more specific. It is a general layout on how you are going to do business with someone and helps you manage customer expectations. It clearly sets out both the positive and negative elements in the sales process. Think about things such as when is payment due and what happens if something is damaged.

For work that is bespoke, meaning someone has specifically ordered or commissioned you to do a piece of work or project, it is reasonable to say its non-refundable. It is also reasonable to ask for a 50% of overall cost as a deposit to secure a sale or commission.

Insurance

Consider what needs to be insured and factor in the costs. Read all documents your insurance brokers have sent to you to and ask them to explain if anything is not clear to you.

Here are a few important points you need to take into consideration:

• If working with a gallery or venue, is your work insured whilst it is in transit on the way there or way back to you?
• When your work is being returned whose insurance policy – the gallery or your own – covers it if any damage occurs?
• Does your insurance cover you when you are shipping your work?
  

Brexit

All EUTM (EU trade marks) need to be registered by the end of the year as the UK Government will not generate free UK trade marks on the basis of EUTM applications alone, therefore if you have a registered EUTM before the end of this year, you will be given a free UKTM (UK Trade Mark). You need to put your trade marks to use to ensure no one applies for yours, which they can do for those that are not being used. UK will issue a new unregistered and registered design rights.

Copyright may change in the future, for now it will remain the same

For more information, we recommend you visit UK government guidance on EU trade mark protection and comparable UK trade marks from 1 January 2021

Links to further resources

Information Commissioners Office – UK's independent authority on data privacy

Guide to Data Protection – Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Data Protection Act – Read what the Data Protection Act 2018 is on GOV.UK

Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) sit alongside the Data Protection Act.

Artists Newsletter – members can be covered for bespoke insurance

Employers Liability Insurance – if you employ staff

Product safety advice for businesses – visit this page for government guidance from the Office for Product Safety and Standards

For further support from Crafts Council email the Talent Development team.

Links to additional 'Meet the Maker' videos