Forgot your username or email?Are you sitting comfortably? By the end of October – after a six-month “amnesty” for retailers – that luxury will cost you more, maybe 12 times more, than now. And it's all thanks to the bloody European Union.It's thanks to Britain bringing its own copyright laws on furniture design into line with our partners – a dovetailing that was meant to be happening in 2020, but has been expedited after representations from the licensees (we'll get back to them) as well as the estates of dead designers. The measure also grants designers the same protection as that enjoyed by plastic and graphic artists, and gives them rough parity with writers, musicians, broadcasters and film-makers. Which is all well and good. But the change could precipitate the disappearance of the “Barcelona”-style chair – currently so ubiquitous in building society branches – and the fetishisation of its licensed equivalent, originally conceived by Mies van der Rohe and costing nearly £6,000.

The starter-home couple will be denied the pleasure of those Italian chrome standard lamps on long spindly arcs, because a licensed Castiglioni version will cost them more than a grand. The same goes for Anglepoise lamps. And you'll be so scared of scratching your clear Perspex Louis Ghost dining-chairs that you won't dare sit on them. What's at issue is the deal on offer to dead designers' estates. At the moment, the copyright in a creator's work holds for 25 years from his or her death – during which time top-drawer copiers can buy licenses to put the designs into manufacture. The licensees can then make limited editions, before churning out as many as they can sell for a few thousand quid a time. But after a quarter of a century, it's open season. Then, the knock-off merchants can legally swing into action. And soon your online oulet is advertising, say, a replica-Charles Eames reclining armchair and footstool – perfect examples of the current taste for “mid-century modern” – for around £400, instead of the £5,000 that the licensee's stockist will charge you.

Anglepoise lamp: Out of copyrightFrom 28 April, furniture designs in Britain will be protected from unlicensed manufacture for 75 years – that's an extra 50. Under the new legislation, retailers selling unlicensed copies – whether classics or bog-standard bog seats – will be liable to fines up to £50,000 and jail terms of up to 10 years. What's more – or less – we'll see fewer representations of the expensive stuff as licensors begin to assert their rights to charge for and control the reproduction of their work in the visual media.chair cover hire cirencester It's doubtful that the Coalition government really considered that ramification, when it decided to repeal Section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1998). folding chairs for sale in johannesburg

Its intention, reasonably enough, was to protect intellectual property. But what it couldn't take account of is the debate within the “design community”. For while Sir Terence may want his chicken-brick to bankroll future generations of Conrans, an interior designer who shall be nameless says it will now be a “nightmare” to prop rooms for his clients at a reasonable mark-up. And, this being the design community, there are socially conscious angles to consider, too.office chairs for sale in centurion Step forward Stephen Bayley, the design pundit who knows so much about his subject that his email address starts with “guru@”. outdoor chair covers bunningsHe agrees that the issue is “complicated” but clearly believes design should have a point beyond the percentage cut:cheap taffeta chair sashes

“The essential, defining proposition of modern design is – or rather, was – that an idea can be limitlessly reproduced at low cost,” he says. “Clearly, the legislation may protect the auteur, but it seems to me at odds with the principles of widely available democratised luxury which make design such an interesting subject. The danger as I see it is that too costive a view of copyright protection might bring the subject into the ancient realms of rarity, preciousness, attribution, provenance and all the other antique stuff that attends fine art.”gold chiavari chairs hire And if, after that, you need a lie-down. do it on an Eileen Gray day-bed. Inspired by original designs. David Trubridge prefers the word “stolen”. “It’s a kick in the guts,” he says of seeing his designs copied, sometimes with his name used in the advertising. The designer and environmentalist is so angry at the state of Australia’s replica furniture industry, he recently posted a video on his Facebook page showing him gleefully smashing a copy of his kitset bamboo plywood Coral light to smithereens.

Faced with an authentic designer product or a replica at a fraction of the price, why shouldn’t people opt for the cheaper version? “As far as we are concerned, no, you should categorically not buy a replica,” Trubridge says. “Do you respect the designer, and the fact the designer has spent a lot of time and effort building their career … to the point where they have a good design?” he says. “The other reason, which in some ways is more important, is respect for the environment. The replica makers don’t care whatsoever for the materials or the process. They’re made to be cheap.” Authentic 400mm Coral lights cost about $400, while replicas are available for less than $300. This is a modest saving compared with many replica furniture items on the market. She fell in love with the Coco pendant light by Melbourne design studio Coco Flip. Hand-made in Melbourne from Victorian ash and powder-coated aluminium, the light retails for $1500. When she discovered a $300 replica, she seriously considered the cheaper option.

“Savings like that could mean buying new furniture for the house sooner,” Marias says. “Something made me suspicious of such a saving, though, so I decided I needed to see both the original and the replica in reality. Once I saw them both, I knew that one was a piece of art, and the other was painted tin. So I’m buying the real thing.” While Marias likes the idea of buying authentic, the combination of a limited budget and an entire house to furnish leaves her open to buying replicas. Such as the five replica BassamFellows Tractor stools she picked up for her kitchen at $190 each, versus more than $1500 each for the originals. “If the quality of a replica matches the original, then I probably wouldn’t regard it differently. I do think about the ethical aspects of crediting … the designer, but I wouldn’t let it stop me from buying something that I love that I would otherwise not be able to afford.” IBIS World has identified the replica furniture industry as a rising trend in Australia, particularly in the $360 million online furniture sector.

Retailers such as Matt Blatt, Glicks, Life Interiors and Sokol openly advertise their replica ranges, with typical disclaimers such as “this is a replica of the original design”. Matt Blatt owner Adam Drexler says his company is meeting a need in the market, and making great design accessible to everyone. “Access to style should not be restricted by income bracket,” Drexler says. The most popular replica pieces, he says, are “iconic” early- and mid-20th century pieces such as the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman – $1995 for the replica, compared with the original’s $8000-plus price tag. While demand for replicas remains strong, Drexler says there is also a growing appetite for original designs stocked by Matt Blatt. “Generally, our customers do not buy the name, they buy the design.” But designers such as Trubridge are unhappy fakes are being allowed to flourish, and are pushing for changes to bring Australian intellectual property laws into line with stricter regulations in Europe or the United States.