Core77

Legal Eameses

By Rain Noe - August 31, 2011

in Design Business | Furniture Design

Yesterday we posted about a manufacturer called Infurn and their Eames pieces, which we mistakenly believed were legally licensed. It has since come to our attention (thanks to our sharp-eyed readers) that the company appears to be producing illegal replicas out of China and routing them through the UK in an attempt to exploit a perceived loophole in copyright laws. Core77 does not condone such practices and I regret my error in posting links to the company.

"Herman Miller and Vitra are the ONLY authorized manufacturers of Eames designs worldwide," writes Herman Miller's Retail Director Marg Mojzak. "All of the beautiful designs mentioned in the post are currently available at Herman Miller's own store."

So folks, please click through and have a look at the lesser-known—and completely legal—Eames designs right here including...

the solid Walnut Stool...

and the elegant Segmented Table.

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James D

13 years ago

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I think it was pretty lame of you guys to completely pull the other article. Infurm's reproductions are legal in the UK where they're based (their policy of shipping worldwide seems pretty sketchy though and them using the real names of the pieces is downright lame) and trying to use the internet memory hole to make it go away is bad net practice. I also think that folks should think about if giving money to a company that happened to cut a good deal 40 years ago and now charges extremely dear prices for things that should be even easier to make today actually does anything for the designers, or for designers in general.

Are Herman Miller chairs better made than Infurm's? Almost certainly. High quality pieces of furniture are not cheap. They also have a great warranty, a good environmental record and you know you'll be able to get replacement parts. I just don't like people thinking they're "rewarding" the designers when they buy these authentic "new antique" pieces. The Eames' are sadly both gone but one of their hallmarks was trying to make design affordable and accessible and Herman Miller's prices seem to run counter to that (see also the increasingly ironically named Design Within Reach who built their company on a lot of these same pieces).

I guess my main point is that there's some conversation to be had around when an iconic design moves from the exclusivity of the original designer to be part of the cultural fabric of its time. Elements of furniture design can be covered by patents or trademarks but it's not as cut and dried as traditional patents (17 years) or books/music/movies (functionally forever). The UK has made 25 years to be the line (see the recent stormtrooper helmet case) which I could see being too short but at least they've chosen a term.

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Marc

13 years ago

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So the mature thing to do is as you have done, pull down the original Infurn blog post and associated discussion? Perhaps update it with a link to this page instead.

I think that there is a place for this kind of product. The designers are long gone, yet their designs still command a significant premium over similar objects.

While the Infurn table is actually more expensive than the Herman Miller one, the reproduction walnut stool is half the price, and Infurn's Lobby Chair, comparable to the Herman Miller Eames Executive Chair, is one fifth the price.

My problem with Infurn is that they are implying that they are working from the Eames' original drawings and specifications. They should be upfront about the nature of their products, that they are reproductions of an original design from decades ago.
As long as people are made aware of this fact I think it's fair to sell this kind of furniture.
This information shows up at the top of their About Us page but I think it should be on the product pages too, so that potential customers don't make the same mistake that this blog's editor did.
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