Information for law enforcement
Counterfeit activity in the UK:
- In the last year, the Publishers Association (PA) has seen a significant increase in the volume of counterfeit works offered for sale in the UK, particularly in audio and scientific, technical and medical books
- Profit estimates for criminals range from £6,000 to £20,000 per month
- The PA estimates that UK criminals earn over £30 million per annum, from online sales worth over £150 million
Help us prevent e-crime! The PA can assist with:
- Authorised representative – the PA is authorised to act on behalf on its members in cases of counterfeiting and piracy
- Identifying rights owners – the PA can identify who holds rights in a work and arrange introductions or injured party statements where required
- Intelligence – the PA holds intelligence data on Internet enabled crime
- Case development – the PA can provide fully developed cases including IP statements, investigators’ statements, test purchases, criminal gain estimates etc
- Analysis of evidence – the PA is happy to examine any evidence you have obtained to establish whether or not it is counterfeit
Trademark vs copyright infringement: A note for Trading Standard Officers
Following the introduction of Section 107A, you can now take action against sellers of both types of counterfeit - trademark and copyright infringement - as the following examples illustrate:
