Author: United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
Title: Confiscation of the Proceeds of IP Crime: A modern tool for deterring counterfeiting and piracy
Summary: The theft of Intellectual Property (IP) in the forms of trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy is a socio-economic problem of enormous scale that has escalated significantly in the last decade. In one country after another, the massive infiltration of counterfeit and pirated products has created an enormous drain on national economies around the world — crowding out billions in legitimate economic activity and facilitating an “underground economy” that deprives governments of revenues for vital public services, forces higher burdens on tax payers, dislocates hundreds of thousands of legitimate jobs and exposes consumers to dangerous and ineffective products. Moreover, the Internet is increasingly exploited as an illicit marketplace for counterfeiting and piracy. The latest estimate from ICC BASCAP indicates that the total global value of counterfeiting and piracy could reach a staggering peak of USD 1.7 trillion by 2015. IP crime has emerged as a lucrative and growing new activity for organized criminal networks. There is strong evidence that organized criminal groups are moving into counterfeiting and piracy in ever-growing numbers. The high profits and low risk associated with modest penalties and lax enforcement of intellectual property IP crime has made this a major new business opportunity for organized crime networks. Today, counterfeiting and piracy play a key role in the operations of transnational criminal organizations. One recent example of this was the Interpol-led Operation “Black Poseidon”. The operation targeted products being traded illicitly across Eastern Europe (namely Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine) by transnational organized crime groups. Counterfeit products included computers, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, electronics, alcohol and cigarettes. The operation led to the seizure of goods worth over €120 million and 1,400 persons under arrest or investigation. The emergence of organized IP crime accelerates the globalization of counterfeiting and piracy, helps fund other criminal activities such as extortion, illegal drugs and human trafficking, compromises the international financial system for money laundering purposes and, ultimately, makes it more difficult for existing law enforcement measures to be effective.
Details: Turin, Italy: United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, 2013. 84p.
Source: Internet Resource: accessed August 10, 2013 at: www.iccwbo.org
Year: 2013
Country: International
URL:
Shelf Number: 129618
Keywords:
Copyright PiracyCounterfeit ProductsCounterfeitingCriminal NetworksOrganized Crime (International)Theft of Intellectual Property |
