Government Tackles Intellectual Property Theft

The Government has proposed new sets of measures to tackle the problem of intellectual property theft.

17:24 23 October 2018

In an effort to help UK creative industries that are losing millions of pounds due to intellectual property theft, the Government has proposed new measures to blocking illegal streaming services and clamping down on rogue app developers. It is also looking at various ways on how to raise awareness among consumers on how illegal activities can hurt the country’s economy. 

 

Minister for Intellectual Property, Sam Gyimah said: “Illegal streaming damages our creative industries.

 

“We have always been clear that media streaming devices used to access ‘paid for’ material for free are illegal. Recent prosecutions have shown that if caught, sellers of boxes adapted in this way face fines and a prison sentence.

 

“Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are backing our booming creative industries which is why we are taking further steps to tackle this threat and in our recent creative industries sector deal outlined support to create the right conditions for them to continue to thrive.”

 

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy added that plans to update the training of Trading Standards officers are also in the pipeline.