Intellectual property crime such as counterfeiting and piracy is on the rise, and seizures at EU external borders have increased dramatically
Online auction sites are now a major avenue of trade for counterfeit sellers

Software piracy rampant in the EU

Government report backs cross-organisation intelligence

Matt Chapman

Intellectual property crime such as counterfeiting and piracy is on the rise, and seizures at EU external borders have increased dramatically, according to a government report released today by The Patent Office

The study found that the internet has become a major avenue of trade for counterfeit sellers, particularly using online auction sites.

Advertisement

The Business Software Alliance estimates that Microsoft has taken down more than 35,000 auctions from a leading UK-oriented auction site since August 2005. 

Music piracy is now seen as "endemic" and the British Phonographic Industry estimates that there is now "somebody on every street in the UK" manufacturing content illegally, either privately or commercially. 

Against the background of this growth in criminal activity, the report expresses deep concern about the prevailing public perception that intellectual property crime is victimless.

"Not only is the rise of counterfeit and pirated products a threat to consumers, businesses and the national economy, it is also used to launder money and fund illegal activities," said Lord Sainsbury at the launch of the report.

"We suspect that all international crime organisations are now involved in counterfeiting, and the government's message to these criminals is that the UK is no longer a safe environment for you."

Lord Sainsbury pointed to a series of weekend raids at Wembley Market that were successful because of the joint intelligence of trading standards officers, the police, the Immigration Service, Jobcentre Plus and the Patent Office.

"While the focus is often on music or DVD piracy, there is even more worryingly a large increase in fake goods which are dangerous to the health and safety of consumers," said Ron Gainsford, chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute.

"We need to bring about a change in public opinion in that it is not acceptable to purchase or trade in counterfeit or pirated goods."

The Intellectual Property Crime Group, established by The Patent Office following the 2004 launch of its National Intellectual Property Crime Strategy, has received more than 500,000 intelligence reports in the past nine months. 

The Patent Office has also set up a national intellectual property crime intelligence database, named TELLPAT, which is used by the police, intelligence officers and trading standards.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

The BSA has reported that over a third of all packaged software installed on PCs worldwide in 2005 was illegal

Global software piracy costing $34bn

Business Software Alliance finds some improvements in emerging markets

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has called for China to "commit to openness" and take its software piracy problem more seriously

EU gets tough with China over software piracy

Beijing 'must try harder', insists EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson

Pirate software case cost taxpayers £19m

Operation Blossom most expensive criminal law case to reach a conclusion in 2005

Microsoft anti-piracy check accused of spying

Windows Genuine Advantage changed after users complain

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

HTC Hero

Hands on with the HTC Hero

V3.co.uk gets a walk through of the Hero, which includes HTC's new Sense overlay for Android

Xperia X1

Video Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

First Looks Editor Ian Williams gets hands on with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

IT white papers

Search white papers

Top categories

Poll

Poll: Summer smartphones

Poll: Summer smartphones

Which smartphone will you be taking to the beach this summer?

View poll results

Advertisement

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Spotlight

HTC Hero

Hands on with the HTC Hero

V3.co.uk gets a walk through of the Hero, which includes...

NetGear ReadyNAS NVX

Review: NetGear ReadyNAS NVX

NetGear's four-bay compact network-attached storage gets a serious speed boost

AMD

AMD adds to six-core Opteron line up

New HE processors promise even lower power consumption

Adobe Systems

Adobe launches ColdFusion 9 and ColdFusion Builder

Firm promises enhanced developer productivity

Primary Navigation