Mid-century design classics, such as Charles Eames chairs, Eileen Gray tables and Arco lamps are set to rocket in price, following EU regulations which came into force this week that extend the copyright on furniture from 25 years to 70 years after the death of a designer. But shoppers have six months to snap up a replica bargain, as the UK has given retailers a six-month transitionary period to clear their existing stock. Take, for example, the famous Eames walnut and leather armchair with matching ottoman. The officially licensed and copyrighted producer, Vitra, sells them for £6,814 in John Lewis. Yet copies made in Chinese factories sell over the internet and in some stores for as little as £399. It is these low-cost knock-offs that will now be banned. A change in law which came into force on 28 July 2016 means that retailers will no longer be able to sell cheap replicas of iconic furniture designs and shoppers will instead be forced to pay thousands for original designs – ie those made brand new under licence with the agreement of the late designers’ estates.
The six-month transition period will run out at the end of January. Companies can currently sell replica goods providing 25 years has passed from the date the designer died, but the EU ruling – speeded up by the British government – has extended that period to 70 years. Eames died in 1978, so the new protection extends the copyright of the many chairs, tables and clocks he designed until 2048. For items designed jointly with his wife, Ray, the copyright would extend for a further 10 years, as she died in 1988. The explosion in popularity of “mid-century modern” designs means the new law will have a huge impact on many people furnishing their homes. Take, for example, the Barcelona chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – hailed as one of the most celebrated designs of all time. Currently replicas can be found on sites such as Swivel UK for just £455. The officially licensed version sells at the Conran Shop for more than £4,000. Van der Rohe died in 1969, so his copyright will now last until 2039.
Similarly, £200 replicas of the Arco floor lamp (designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962) and which graced the Downing Street flat occupied by David Cameron and his family, will be removed from sale, with the Flos licensed version available for £1,420 at John Lewis. The official Arne Jacobsen Egg chair costs £4,283 on the licensed Fritz Hansen website, but can, for now, be found for £359.98 at Vertigo Interiors, and £500 elsewhere. Gray’s chrome and glass side table sells for under £100 on some websites, yet the official version costs £433.50 licensed through Aram Design. The changes to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 extends the copyright for a deceased designer’s work from 25 years to 70 years. Originally the new law wasn’t meant to come into force until 2020, but it was expedited when the government decided that the time period was excessive, and to bring it into line with European intellectual property law. The changes – designed to offer protection to British designers for a longer period of time and originally the brainchild of the former business secretary Vince Cable as a boost for UK manufacturing and innovation – are backed by Habitat founder and designer Sir Terence Conran and fashion designer Stella McCartney.
David Woods, a copyright laywer with solicitors Pinsent Masons, said the changes were intended to bring copyright laws governing furniture into line with those covering literature and music, where there have been many high-profile court challenges. But he admits there could still be difficulties proving whether an item was a complete and intentional copy of another design: “The intent of the change to the legislation is to stop ‘exact’ copies of existing industrially designed artistic works, although this means that products that are ‘inspired by’ the works may still be allowed, so long as they do not cross the line. Identifying where that line is can be an inexact science, unfortunately, and when considering what amounts to copyright infringement, the courts will consider the question of whether a whole, or a substantial part, of a work has been copied.” With an estimated 54 factories in China making Eames furniture alone, he predicts the closure of websites producing bargain basement, mass-produced copies of furniture, “as after all, this was their business model”.
Over the last years, the market has been flooded with reproductions of this iconic chair, with sometimes a huge difference in prices. Reproductions may look the same from far away but the differences are clear as soon as you look at details. Consequently, it can be challenging for our clients to differentiate all the different versions and their respective quality. There are hundreds of factories manufacturing these replicas. We have visited so many factories that we can confidently say only a handful of factories manufacture high-quality Eiffel replicas. We are going to explain what to look at when you want to buy an Eiffel Chair. There are essentially three parts to carefully look at: the seat, the base and the hardware. 1 - The seat's finish You may have seen 4 circle marks on top of the seat when comparing the chairs. These marks should be seen from limited angles only, as on the original chair. The cheap knockoffs will have 4 circle marks very visible from many angles. We can explain that with the thickness of the seat.
The thinner the chair, the less sturdy it is. The shockmounts of your Eiffel replica chair are the most important parts of the seat as they will affect the durability of your chair. On the pictures below, you can see the big difference between the quality reproductions and the cheap ones. Our seat is a mirror design of the original Vitra version. The cheap versions are undersized in design and have a lack of metal reinforcement at the fixation. There are many variations of these low-grade reproductions on the market and they all have this major weak design. In order to give a stronger and more durable support for your chair, we crease the metal connectors, as on the original base. The cheaper versions are not creased, as you can see on the picture below. A base with creased connectors can definitely support more weight and will be more durable. Every chair we manufacture comes with 3 elements: Always keep in mind that poor hardware means poor overall quality and durability for your chair.