Online IP crime is a major problem for brands and their clients.
The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit’s (PIPCU) commitment to tackling crime in the most innovative and partnership focused way is epitomised by the work of Operation Creative.
The Infringing Website List (IWL) has been a great success and it is now seen as a template for other countries to adopt in the future. Clearly there is scope and a real need for the IWL to grow even further by increasing the number of websites monitored. Developing new partnerships and relationships is integral in gaining greater traction support for the principles of the IWL.
In response to digital content theft, PIPCU does not just deal with disruptions and website takedowns, but also undertakes enforcement activity when it is deemed as appropriate. During March 2016 officers undertook a significant amount of work which resulted in seven arrests and a man charged for multiple online fraud offences.
The key to PIPCU’s success is the real joint partnership approach which is applied to every initiative and investigation along with the long term support received from the Intellectual Property Office, other law enforcement agencies and the intellectual property industry.
This film explains how brands and advertising companies can sign up to the IWL to stop their ads appearing on illegal websites (produced with advice from PIPCU and the Internet Advertising Bureau).
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1 comment
Comment by Stuart Fox posted on
It would also be wonderful if the police would focus on criminals who hijack peoples computers and demand ransoms to remove viruses which they planted in the first place.
Stuart Fox - Inventor