UK Businesses At Greater Risk Of Counterfeits During 'Digital Recession'

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

16 April 2009

Businesses in the UK are calling for the introduction of tighter controls on online counterfeiting and piracy.

The calls have been made after a survey by intellectual property group Marks & Clerk revealed that around 80% of UK businesses fear that online fraud will increase as the recession continues.

According to Pam Withers, a partner at the firm:

“This is the first recession in the digital era and businesses are anxious about the consequences. The success of the internet has meant that we are seeing increasingly vociferous criticism of those who play a part in counterfeiting – even those who do so unwittingly."

The survey revealed that of the 216 businesses questioned, around 75% strongly believe that tougher action is needed to prevent companies losing out to online counterfeiters. Further to this, 61% believe that stricter penalties should be imposed on infringers, and that a new cybercrime authority should be set up to tackle the problem directly.

Over three quarters of those questioned also believe that the law is out of touch with business needs when it comes to intellectual property and the internet - with only a quarter of respondents believing that businesses themselves should take more responsibility for the problem.

"One of the major headaches has been the lack of certainty for businesses due to the fragmented treatment of these issues from one country to another. The internet is an international channel requiring a more co-ordinated response, which may account for the frustration expressed in our survey about intellectual property systems," Ms Withers added.

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