UK unveils four-year strategy to tackle IP crime

The UK government has laid out a four-year strategic plan to tackle online intellectual property crime, including the trade in counterfeit goods.

Introducing the plans in a report entitled Protecting creativity, supporting innovation:
IP enforcement 2020, the UK's Minister for IP Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe noted that as much as 39 per cent of GDP across the EU derives from IP intensive activities.

IP-related crime is also closely linked to other forms of criminality, including benefit fraud, money laundering, organised crime, violence and drug deal, says the report.

"IP infringement is complex and multi-faceted [so] our approach to addressing these problems must be multi-pronged," says the Intellectual PropertyOffice (IPO) report, which highlights the key strategic commitments for the coming four years.

Heading the list is reducing the level of illegal content online and tackling the trade in counterfeit goods, along with a strengthening of legal processes against criminals, generating data on the scale and nature of IP crime and raising awareness of the problem. 

A primary goal is to make it easier for UK rights holders and businesses to trade internationally, says the IPO. A key objective for the agency following the publication of the document will be to elevate its vision to the European level and "influence the current review of the IP Enforcement Directive."