UK Government Called To Action To Further Boost IP Enforcement

By Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch

The United Kingdom-based Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) industry group launched a “manifesto” earlier this month, calling on the government to establish a more effective and comprehensive response to intellectual property crime.

A summary press release and the manifesto can be found here.

The UK government is estimated by industry to lose £1.3 billion in unpaid tax from the sale of counterfeits. Additionally, whilst there has been an increase in the counterfeit products entering the UK markets, there has unfortunately been a decrease in the number of these products being seized at EU borders, the group said.

IP crime has become more severe in wake of the ease of entering the profitable counterfeit business. Alan Zimmerman, professor of international business and marketing at the City University of New York, notes that “you can get into business at very low cost, and the penalties if you get caught are very small compared to other illegal activities.”

Among the points of ACG’s manifesto are that the government: openly recognise the growing international counterfeit trade and place IP crime as an immediate political priority; develop a national, multi-partner IP central enforcement body that shares expertise and intelligence and collaborates on business planning; and lastly, raise public awareness of the dangers and costs of counterfeits.

The ACG is a business lobby group with dozens of members from the high-end retail goods, technology, pharmaceutical and other sectors, as well as cybersecurity companies and numerous law firms and patent and trademark agents. The full list is available on its website.

Alexandra Nightingale is an intern at Intellectual Property Watch. She completed her Bachelors in Law at the University of Sussex and holds an LLM degree in International Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. During her Masters, she developed a strong interest in Intellectual Property, particularly patents and the aspects relating to global health. Her research interests now also include geographical indications and trademarks.