contentsecurity2209v2_cs 25/09/2015 17:32 Page 8
IP crime unit claims
infringing website
disruption
specialist UK police operation
that disrupts illegal websites
providing access to films, TV,
books, music and games has seen
major success. Since the Police
Intellectual Property Crime Unit
(PIPCU) launched Operation Creative
and the Infringing Website List (IWL)
in 2013, there has been a 73%
decrease in
advertising
from the
UK’s top ad
spending
companies
on copyright
infringing
websites.
Highlights
include the
automotive,
food and drink
and real estate
sectors, whose advertising has almost
entirely stopped appearing on pirate sites.
Reducing advertising on illegal sites is
one of the key aims of Operation Creative as
it is one of the main generators of criminal
profits. A report by the Digital Citizens
Alliance estimated that in 2013 piracy
websites generated $227m from advertising.
The appearance of adverts from established
brands on illegal websites lends sites a look
of legitimacy. Therefore a decrease in
advertising from reputable brands will help
consumers
realise these
sites are neither
official nor
legal.
PIPCU’s
pilot study in
2013 also
showed that
almost half (46%) of total ads served to
copyright infringing websites often clicked
through to websites containing malware and
viruses or even fraudulent scams. PIPCU is a
specialist national police unit dedicated to
protecting UK industries that produce
legitimate, high quality, physical goods and
online digital content from intellectual
property crime, based within the Economic
Crime Directorate of the City of London
A
Police, the National Policing Lead for Fraud.
The IWL is an online portal providing the
digital advertising sector with an up-to-date
list of copyright infringing sites, identified
by the creative industries, evidenced and
verified by PIPCU, so that advertisers,
agencies and other intermediaries can cease
advert placement on these illegal websites.
Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Minister for
Intellectual
Property said
the
Government
takes
copyright
infringement
extremely
seriously. “It
hurts
businesses,
consumers
and the
wider
economy. The results of Operation Creative
show what can be achieved when
enforcement agencies, industry and
government work together. I am delighted
PIPCU is clamping down on advertising of
things like pop music and gambling on
copyright infringing sites – protecting our
industries and consumers from online
crime.”
Head of the Police Intellectual
Property Crime Unit, Detective Chief
Inspector Peter Ratcliffe, said that
working closely with rights
holders and the advertising
industry, PIPCU had been able to
lead the way with tackling
copyright infringing sites by
successfully disrupting advertising
revenue.
Operation Creative is a PIPCUled initiative designed to disrupt
and prevent websites from providing
unauthorised access to copyrighted content,
in partnership with the creative and
advertising industries. The operation
consists of several tactical options
including; engagement with the site owner
to legitimise their site, contacting the
domain registrar to seek suspension of the
site and disrupting advertising revenue
through the use of the IWL.
“It hurts businesses,
consumers and the
wider economy... I
am delighted PIPCU
is clamping down.”
Lobbyist
questions online
piracy sentence
proposal
L
obbying body Open Rights
Group (ORG) has responded
to a consultation by the
UK’s Intellectual Property Office
(IPO) on proposals to increase
the maximum prison sentence for
criminal online copyright
infringement to 10 years. This
would bring sanctions for online
copyright infringement in line
with those for physical copyright
infringement.
ORG agrees with the IPO that the
online environment should not
confer less protection for copyright
holders. However, the IPO’s
proposals could mean that people
who share links and files online
without any financial gain could be
punished more severely than
criminals who commit physical theft,
which has a maximum penalty of
seven years.
According to executive director
Jim Killock, the key problem is that
copyright infringement requires no
‘intent’ to harm. “Someone who
shares copyrighted files can face a
criminal charge because of the
apparent value of the copies
shared. The value of share files is
hard to estimate and can easily be
exaggerated. This makes the
criminal copyright offence very
wide and could mean heavy-handed
sentences for ordinary people and
businesses,” he warned.
“We are asking the IPO to narrow
the criminal charge to businesses
and people intending to cause
serious harm. Ten years in jail is a
very harsh punishment, which
should be reserved for real
criminals who are making financial
gains from copyright
infringement,” he concluded.
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