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Charley Chau is a member of A©ID - Anti-Copying In Design

Charley Chau is a member of ACID

 

When we started our small business by accident we had no idea that the designs we have created, the words we have written, and even the photos we have taken would become a target for copying. Nor did we ever think that we would have to spend an awful lot of time learning about how to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, and we had no idea how stressful dealing with unethical copycat traders would be. That's why we joined A©ID - Anti-Copying In Design, a trade organisation that lobbies the Government on behalf of UK businesses on matters relating to intellectual property.

Just like many other innovative small businesses who are out there trying to do something different, we spend an extraordinary amount of time and effort designing and developing our products and it's terribly disheartening to see someone else take all of that hard work and copy it. But it's not just about the time and effort - our designs and our work is intensely personal. For example the Ducky Donut Bed was six years in development and for three years of that period, I had moved back into my parents' house (in my thirties!) so that I could work for no salary so that we could grow the business.  The personal sacrifices we've made to grow Charley Chau are pretty mind blowing when we look back and Charley Chau is not "just" a business to us.

It's hideous when we see designs that we've obsessed over to create them, words that we've written, images that we've created, and even our overall "look" being copied by someone else. The unethical copycats reap the benefits of our hard work and our personal sacrifices. As a point of principle I believe that's simply wrong.

No surprise then that we take all infringements of our intellectual property rights very seriously and we take a robust position in terms of defending our rights. There is no 'nice' way to say this and there's no point in mincing our words either:

Charley Chau has and will continue to enforce its intellectual property rights, and take legal action where necessary against third parties that infringe those rights by copying our designs, words, images or presentation.  

We love what we do and we'll keep doing what we do best - designing fantastically comfortable luxury dog beds and blankets that are gorgeous and practical. And when we see someone copying our work, well, we will do what we have to do to protect our intellectual property, but at the same time we will also poke some fun to keep us sane ... 

Because some things are just pants in comparison!

For more information about the protection of intellectual property rights please see the ACID website and the Intellectual Property Office.

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