Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the sale online of counterfeit goods.

This Government takes IP crime very seriously and is working closely with law enforcers and rights holders to tackle criminality, including the sale of counterfeit goods online. We have provided an additional £3 million investment in the Police IP Crime Unit (PIPCU), securing its future until 2017. PIPCU is working to remove payment provisions from infringing websites using money laundering legislation, and in 2014 removed 4,650 offending sites with a ‘.co.uk’ address. The Intellectual Property Office continues to share intelligence with relevant enforcement bodies and in the last two weeks contributed to the seizure of a £1m shipment of counterfeit goods, thought to be bound for the online market, by the UK Border Force. This activity is supplemented by education programmes and a government/private industry partnership to provide IP training to enforcement officers and brand representatives to help stem the demand for counterfeit products.