Vintage view: The end of 'knock-off' furniture

Have you been holding off treating yourself to that pretend Charles Eames EA 208 (original €2,371/Vitra) — or a cheery knock-off Louis Poulsen PH Artichoke suspension lamp dealt out in copper shields (original €6,795/ Poulsen)?

Well, the sun is setting on your naughty buy. The days of circumventing the often terrifying price of patented original mid-century masterpieces is coming to an end.

Flagrant ‘democratisation’ of industrially manufacturered design by imitators and replicators is about to become illegal in the UK, and well-honed Irish ‘tut-tuts’ and pressure from the EU, will ensure our copyright laws follow suit in the near future.