Intellectual property crime

Intellectual property crime (IPC) involves the counterfeiting and piracy of goods. These include: 

• Digital media, such as software and games
• Fashion wear
• Luxury clothing and footwear
• Pharmaceuticals
• Automotive parts, electrical items and other manufactured goods 

Counterfeiting and distributing these goods requires different levels of expertise or techniques and attracts criminals of all types.  For organised criminals, IPC is attractive because it offers a high financial return from, typically, a low investment. Also the risk of detection is comparatively low.  

A global problem 

Globally, IPC occurs on a vast scale.  More open borders and increased international trade make it easier for fake goods to flow across continents.  Advances in technology have also made it easier to mass produce fake items. The best of them are of such high quality that they’re hard to tell from the real thing. 

While no proven figures are available, the December 2006 Gowers Review of Intellectual Property estimated that criminal gain from IPC in the UK was worth £1.3 billion. Organised crime was responsible for £900 million of this. Up to half of the total was accounted for by digital media, particularly software and film.

How do you tell if something is fake? 

Price, packaging and where it’s on sale are three indicators to whether goods are counterfeit. However, it’s not always easy to tell the difference. 

• Packaging is often hard to spot, as it’s made to look like the real thing as much as possible. Often, it even carries the trade marks of genuine manufacturers. 
• Many fakes are of inferior quality, and the impression given is that they are “end of line” or stolen rather than fake. 
• With some luxury goods, such as watches, fakes are offered for sale at or near the normal price to reinforce the idea that they are genuine. 
• Internet auction sites are an attractive outlet for fake digital media – DVDs, software and music - and many sites are working hard to limit criminal opportunities  

Counterfeiting affects everyone 

IPC is widely thought of as a victimless crime. However, consumers are at risk from poor quality or unsafe goods, such as fake pharmaceuticals or suncare products, some of which contain no active ingredients. Businesses also suffer economic harm through loss of sales which can lead to jobs losses, and the reputation of their brands suffers too. And higher prices, extra costs to law enforcement and loss of tax revenue affect all of us.