IP Misuse & impacts
Protecting Original Minds: Roundtable on IP Misuse and Mental Health Impacts
IP theft is far more widespread, damaging and quietly corrosive than most people realise, last month Original Minds, Rightful Credit convened a roundtable bringing together experts from law, academia, design, policy, research and mental health. The range of perspectives allowed people to compare how the issue shows up across very different fields and to speak frankly about what they are seeing.
Discussion focused on two urgent issues:
The real experiences of people whose work has been used without acknowledgement, the practical limits of their legal rights, and what best practice looks like when trying to assert them. Legal contributors highlighted four recurring themes: the emotional toll, low awareness of basic protection, inconsistent institutional processes and policy frameworks that have not kept pace with technology.
The significant and often lasting mental health impact of IP theft. Feelings of betrayal, anxiety and self-doubt can be as severe as the professional damage. Several contributors noted that some groups, including women and those less familiar with navigating IP risks, appear to be more heavily affected, and we want to further evidence and substantiate the scale of this next year
The case studies submitted to Rightful Credit, and available at on our campaign website, underline the human cost, including lost opportunities, cloned designs, stolen concepts and careers knocked off course.
The discussion also highlighted the breadth of challenges across sectors. Academia emerged as a priority frontier, with a need for clearer authorship norms, assignment guidance and early career protection. In design and creative fields, participants described an environment where borrowing is often seen as routine, which makes practical guidance, clearer expectations and sector wide collaboration even more important. AI was identified both as a multiplier of risk and a potential future source of low-cost detection tools.
Next steps & call for partnership
Rightful Credit is a campaign dedicated to practical support, clearer guidance and better protection for people whose work is used without acknowledgement. We work in collaboration with institutions and organisations committed to improving practice across research, innovation and the creative industries.
Following the roundtable, we will be moving forward with two projects and would welcome contributions from those with relevant experience.
First, we will develop an accessible education resource for creators, researchers and students, setting out simple steps to protect work, navigate early IP risks and understand what good practice looks like in academic, research and creative settings.
Second, we will bring together a mental health resource strand to help raise awareness of the emotional impacts and signpost appropriate support available.
IP misappropriation holds back individuals, weakens trust and reduces the health and productivity of the UK’s innovation economy. More importantly, it causes profound personal consequences for talented people with much to contribute. Our aim is to help change that.
Perspectives from roundtable participants:
“Our campaign’s research has laid bare the widespread and deeply damaging impact of research plagiarism, intellectual property theft, and misappropriation in and beyond academia across the UK - a long-neglected issue that undermines those driving genuine discovery and innovation. Our inaugural roundtable brought together leading experts from fields directly impacted by the issue, whose invaluable insights, feedback, and ideas have equipped us with the momentum and clarity needed to launch the campaign on a strong footing in 2026.” - Dr Melissa Sterry, Original Minds Rightful Credit
“The session clearly described the damage that can be done by IP infringement, not only on a corporate level, but at an individual and emotional one. Tightening up on IP rights and increasing trust, will in turn assist in motivating collaborative research and development.” - Mark Nichols, Senior Associate, Potter Clarkson
“People have the right to receive strong protections for their innovation to ensure copying doesn’t take place. That infringement can have both an economic and emotional impact and we strongly support all efforts to stamp it out.” - Daniel Guthrie, Director General, Alliance for Intellectual Property
“The impact this all has on mental health is profound and is experienced by the individual as intensely as a type of infidelity and betrayal of a system which they trusted would protect them. The distrust that is experienced with stolen work can lead to all forms of emotional distress resulting in a lack of faith in colleagues and institutions with lasting consequences including a total disillusionment with the meaning of integrity and humanity” - Dr. Teyhou Smyth,MA, LMFT, LPCC , PhD, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Education & Psychology, Pepperdine University in Los Angeles.
"Unfortunately the stealing of IPR and poaching of ideas has become an inevitable part of one's work life, but this really shouldn't be the case as it only hinders creativity and the pushing of intellectual frontiers." - Dr. Alicia C., Affiliated Research Fellow, University of Central Lancashire
“Understanding the legal basis of IP protection is key to providing the 'least risky' creative / inventive pathway in all specialties. Breaches in legislative control and or failures due to lack of planning can result in very painful and potentially career changing incidents.” - Professor Brendon Noble, University of Westminster
“It is so important that we educate young researchers to be diligent when starting new projects, to check what already exists, and to cite any similar work as a first step. Supervision teams have a role too, staying alert to overlaps and possible collaboration. It is our responsibility.” - Lucy Jones, Founder & Creative Director, Lucy Jones Lingerie
“It was encouraging to see how the Original Minds, Rightful Credit campaign is bringing people together to shape real-world solutions — this roundtable showed just how powerful it can be to unite around building a culture of recognition and collaboration so that trust, inclusion and innovation can thrive.”- Shamir Hale, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, Design Council
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Image:Sam Szuchan, Unsplash License.