Social media spurs online sale of fake goods in UK

The number of social media sites now facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods in the UK has increased enormously during the 2014/15 period, creating additional burden on rights owners and enforcement agencies.

The number of social media sites now facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods in the UK has increased enormously during the 2014/15 period, creating additional burden on rights owners and enforcement agencies.

This developing trend has been identified in the latest UK Intellectual Property Office IP Crime Report. (The full report can be accessed via this link)

The report said while auction sites and other online sales platforms remain a concern, the main tool used by counterfeiters is social media, mainly Facebook.

This was proven in 2014 when an initiative by the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) identified the availability of over 30,000 individual images of counterfeit goods in just one day on Facebook.

During the review period, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) also reported a marked rise in cases involving illegal access to subscription pay TV services through card sharing, also known as control-word sharing, and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) devices.

Investigations by FACT showed an increase from 6% to over 18% year-on-year, driven predominantly by an insurgence of IPTV devices and FACT considers the proliferation of IPTV devices a serious threat to the IP interests of all its members.

Nevertheless the report said concerted action is being taken with all parties involved including online marketplaces - whose platforms are being abused through the sale of illegal products - and law enforcement, to address the use of legitimate technological advances being used for illegal purposes.

The UK PRS for Music’s Anti-Piracy Unit has also become aware of a significant rise in websites and software offering stream-ripping services.

“As consumers are moving away from download services and over to streaming services, these stream-ripping services are seriously undermining the subscription-based streaming model and the remuneration returned to rights holders,” the report said.

It said law enforcement and industry have responded to the threat of sales of fakes online by developing new ways of disrupting and removing online IP crime.

Giles York National Police Lead for Intellectual Property Crime and Chief Constable of Sussex Police said, “[UK] Border Force detentions removed over 1.6 million infringing items with a retail value of more than £56m – activity indicating just how harmful IP Crime is to the UK economy.

“In just a few weeks, an inter-agency operation into an emerging trend, in which criminals exploit social media channels to sell counterfeit and dangerous goods, took down 4,300 Facebook listings and 20 Facebook profiles.

“The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) has diverted 11 million views of pirate websites to an official police warning page and seized counterfeit goods worth £3m. Activity has gone beyond our borders engaging internationally.”

The report also noted a growth in the sales of high value counterfeit items such as handbags, watches and electrical items during the review period.

Car boot sales, street stalls, and pubs and clubs continue to be IP crime hotspots while the most frequently investigated counterfeit products were tobacco, clothing, alcohol, footwear and DVDs.

The report said the National Markets Group’s Real Deal initiative has led to the seizure of over 30,000 counterfeit items and nearly 400 markets have signed up to the Real Deal Charter to commit to tackling the sale of counterfeit goods on market stalls.

It said ACG has worked with 40 Trading Standards authorities and 13 Police Forces throughout the UK to tackle local IP hot spots.”

It is worth noting ICC’s Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (CIB) has specialist teams and expert investigators who work on behalf of their membership to help identify and put a stop to counterfeiting activities. CIB’s expertise has helped in over 600 investigations in more than 35 countries to date.

More information about CIB and its membership benefits can be found at https://icc-ccs.org/icc/cib