cult furniture
the World Of Hospitality
25
New Moda collection by Cult Furniture- Available from May 2016
Cult Furniture
How Sudden 2016 Copyright Law Affects
Businesses and Buyers
LONDON, 7th March - The UK Government has
unexpectedly fast-tracked the deadline for shop
owners to stop selling replica furniture. The change,
however, will not go without consequences.
The Fight Against Legal Reproductions
The UK Government announced the repeal of Section
52 of the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act in 2014:
the copyright on furniture designs would be extended
from 25 to 70 years after a designer’s death. Businesses
were given five years to adjust to the change in law,
which meant that most of the designs they were selling
would then become illegal. By 2020, they should stop
selling replicas altogether or else they could face a fine
of up to £50,000, and a custodial sentence of up to ten
years.
A New Unexpected Deadline: April 2016
While those five years could have been sufficient for
most companies to make changes to their business
model, the UK Government, under pressure to
comply with the new EU copyright laws, unexpectedly
fast tracked the deadline to April 2016. Not only
does the sudden decision harm businesses and create
further job losses, but customers are affected in the
long run too. They are, in a way, punished for not being
able to own an iconic chair design, even though the
original designs were meant to be affordable. As Ray
and Charles Eames were famously quoted: “We want
to make the best for the most for the least.”
“It’s a sad time for design lovers everywhere. By abiding
by the wishes of the furniture giants to hand over the
designs that were initially meant to be affordable,
functional and beautiful for everyone, we’re losing
more than just a legal battle. We’ll be completely out
of touch with the visions of those (designers) before
us. It’s unlikely that the change in copyright law will
increase the sales of originals as very few people will
be able to afford these overpriced originals and this
doesn’t just affect the everyday consumer, you will also
see a lot of the iconic designs fade away from the high
street as bars and restaurants will not be able to afford
to pay £400 + each for a dining chair.” — Fiaz Iqbal,
CEO of Cult Furniture.
The Next Steps: From Stockist to Design Studio
While many businesses struggle to find ways to adapt
and innovate within the new timeframe (and possibly
need to quit), the most logical step for Cult Furniture
was to establish itself as a design studio, instead of
being a limited stockist. After learning about the
possible law changes in 2014, Fiaz Iqbal put together
his own inhouse product design team to create Cult
Designs: furniture inspired by iconic designs but with
contemporary twists in the brand’s style, to replace
their best selling iconic designs.
The road from stockist to design studio, however,
hasn’t been an entirely smooth one. Many of the
new designs were work in progress and not due
to be released until mid-2017. The sudden April
2016 deadline created a lot of pressure and stress
in perfecting the new Cult Design range on time.
But, with years of market research, the new designs
are anything but a gamble. Knowing exactly what
customers are looking for in terms of style, Cult
Furniture will launch their new furniture line as an
Website: www.cultfurniture.com
|
alternative to those who will soon have limited access
to iconic furniture.
“We firmly believe that everyone should have access to
good design. When they want to buy reproductions,
this is their choice. We hope to provide an alternative,
to keep the vision of Eames alive: that good design
should be affordable and for everyone, not just the rich
and famous.” – Fiaz Iqbal, CEO of Cult Furniture.
About Cult Furniture
Fiaz Iqbal launched Cult Furniture in 2010, after
opening a series of successful bars in London. The idea
(of selling iconic furniture reproductions) came about
in 2009, when he opened a bar in Putney, London
and couldn’t find the specific designs and colours he
wanted for his bar and having them custom made
was not affordable. After some research, Fiaz Iqbal
saw an opportunity to legally sell reproductions in
so everyone could access and enjoy iconic designs
without a ridiculous price tag. Cult Furniture has
since then, grown into a popular one-stop shop for
contemporary furnishings for homes, offices and
commercial spaces, with customers all over Europe.
Known for their Pantone colour selection; their new
Cult Designs won’t disappoint, introducing new
colour ranges as well as a variety of metal leg finishes,
including gold and copper.
With a (growing) workforce including in-house
designers, only time will tell whether Cult Furniture
succeeds in adapting to the copyright changes in 2016.
TEL: +44 (0) 208 185 6960