At the centre of the web – the role of UK IPO in intellectual property enforcement

Matt CopeDeputy Director, IP Enforcement

But first – a little more about us..

• IPO (formerly the Patent Office) set up as a rights granting organisation

• Additional policy function for non-registered rights

• Education and outreach role• The Karaoke Shower

Enough digression – what about enforcement?

• 30 people

• Based within Copyright and IP Enforcement Directorate

• 2 policy teams

• Intelligence Hub

• Based in Newport, South Wales

Enforcing Intellectual Property

“IPRs cannot succeed in their core economic function of incentivising innovation if rights are disregarded......(there) are powerful reasons

for supporting effective enforcement of IPRs”

“The Government should pursue an integrated approach based upon enforcement, education and, crucially, measures to strengthen and

grow legitimate markets......”

Digital Opportunity: A Review of IP and Growth by Prof. Ian Hargreaves, May 2011

Why an IPO Enforcement role?

• IP crime harmful to:

• economy – almost half of UK’s £137 billion annual investment in intangible assets is in IP

• right holders – to reward and incentivise innovation and creativity

• consumer – harmful products (pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco, electrical goods)

• In Govt’s interest to help tackle IP infringement/crime, in partnership with industry and legal profession

What do we do?

• Policy• Legislation• Ministerial support• IP Crime Group• Policy interventions• Implementation of

National Strategy for

IP Criminal Enforcement of IP Rights• Making access to justice cheaper and easier for SMEs• IPEC Reforms

More on SMEs and IPEC

• Create modern legal framework for civil procedures and help SMEs get access to justice

• IP Enterprise Court • fixed scale of recoverable costs capped at £50,000 • value of damages claim capped at a maximum of £500,000• Small Claims Track (less than £10,000)• Change of name • Review of changes ongoing (summer 2014)

• ADR - Mediation Services/Opinions Service

What do we do?

• Intelligence Hub• Set up in 2008 to manage IP Crime Intelligence Database

(contains over 70,000 National Intelligence Reports)• Staffed by researchers, intelligence officers, analysts and

financial investigators• Covering all IP rights• Produce reports, profiles, analysis of intelligence

Key Hub relationships

• UK Border Force/HMRC

• Trading Standards

• Police/RARTs (Regional Asset Recovery Team)

• PIPCU (Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit)

• NFIB

• Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

• ‘GAIN’ (Government Agency Intelligence Network)

• NCA (National Crime Agency)

• Private Sector representatives

Intel Hub Priorities

• Harmful products, especially pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco, electrical goods

• Audio Digital Media

• Luxury consumer goods

• Consumer Rights

• Economic harm, to rights holders and Revenue

• Serious and Organised Crime: • 3rd on Economic Crime Strategic Assessment;• Behind fraud against private and public sector;• Ahead of fraud against individuals, bribery/corruption, market

abuse, fake currency and fraud against charity sector

Intelligence Hub – example of success

• In 2011 one individual found to be importing 44,000 pairs of design-infringing shoes from China

• UKBF checks revealed previous imports of similar unbranded product

• UK IPO intelligence revealed labels being imported by associates

• Main suspect making £10,000 per month• Suspect arrested in relation to counterfeit goods• 2013 sentenced to 30 months – confiscation pending

Trends in Counterfeit Goods

• Counterfeit Goods• Key countries: China, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam, India• Transit routes through France and Greece• Complete goods• Separate consignments of labels • Textile machinery• Design infringing – unbranded goods• Markets• Online: eBay, Facebook, Amazon, Gumtree

Trends in Piracy

• Film Piracy• DVDs • Box sets• Live streaming

• Music Piracy and Theft • CDs on eBay and markets• Phishing and hacking of pre-release albums

• Electronic Books

• Sporting Events live streaming

IP Crime Group

•Industry, enforcement agencies and government•Founded in 2004 by IPO and chaired by Giles York•Meets bi-monthly to;

•Discuss strategic policy issues in relation to IP Crime•Identify strategic priorities for collaborative action•Identify and distribute good practice•Raise awareness of IP crime•Discuss and produce annual report on IP Crime

IP Crime Group

The Annual IP Crime Report

• Will be published in early October

• Contributions from industry and enforcement agencies

• Highlights scale of IP Crime, and innovative work being done by partners

• Follow @ipcrimegroup to get your copy as soon as it is published

Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit - PIPCU

• Dedicated unit within City of London Police force

• Funded (so far) by IPO, £2.56m for first 2 years operation

• Operationally independent law enforcement unit dedicated to tackling serious and organised intellectual property crime (counterfeit and piracy) affecting physical and digital goods (with the exception of pharmaceutical goods).

Operation “Creative”

•Rights holders in the creative industries identify and report copyright infringing websites to PIPCU•Must provide detailed evidence •PIPCU then evaluate websites for infringement •At first instance site owner is contacted by officers at PIPCU and offered the opportunity to “engage with the police, to correct their behaviour and to begin to operate legitimately”• If a website fails to comply, then other tactical options may be used; contacting the domain registrar to seek suspension of the site, advert replacement and disrupting advertising revenue through the use of an Infringing Website List (IWL).

Infringing Website List (IWL)

• The IWL is an online portal containing an up-to-date list of copyright infringing sites, identified and evidenced by the creative industries and verified by the City of London Police unit.

• It is available to those involved in the sale and trading of digital advertising.

• The aim of the IWL is that advertisers, agencies and other intermediaries can voluntarily decide to cease advert placement on these illegal websites which in turn disrupts the site’s advertising revenue.

Also trade marked goods

• Designer clothes

• Fake software

• Fake car paint

• Headphones

• Sunglasses

• Shoes

• Toys

• Electronics

• Mobile phones

• Comsmetics

• Handbags...

•The first International IP Enforcement Summit of its kind• Brought together key European and international decision makers, enforcement agencies, multinational companies and other stakeholders

Key themes;

•Dialogue is vital, and increasingly at international level.

•There is a need to think about the right business models.

•Education is crucial

Full report of proceedings due in September:

https://oami.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/international-ip-enforcement-summit

International

• Working with IP Attaché network

• Influencing EU Observatory – Working Groups & Secondees

• WIPO – Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE)

• Internationally, Chinese investigating counterfeiters identified by UK and vice versa establishing sustainable relationship

• Observatory supporting UK approach to tackling the ‘life cycle of a counterfeit’

• Recent published global league tables puts UK first or second for enforcement

Challenges going forward

• Designs infringement – new criminal offence

• Training for Trading Standards and industry (DCATS)

• Trading Standards budgets

• Threat from Organised Crime Groups

• Sustainablitly of PIPCU

• Build on International IP Enforcement Summit

• Transition of IPO website to gov.uk

Want to know more?

Matthew.cope@ipo.gov.uk @mattcopeIPO