Government & Whitehall Action

IP Crime Group

Progress has been made within Government, and key policy advancements have been seen, in ensuring IP theft is properly addressed. Most notable has been the creation of the IP Crime Group. 

The Alliance is very supportive of and a key player in the IP Crime Group, run by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and chaired by Giles York, Deputy Chief Constable of Sussex Police and ACPO lead for IP Crime.

The Group seeks to bring together all those involved in IP protection and enforcement, from the individual industries to the police, HMRC and trading standards. This has created a welcome focus on IP crime within the IPO and crucially has brought with it liaison with other Government departments allowing a central point for intelligence gathering and information dissemination.
For further information about the IP Crime Group visit the IPO's website at: www.ipo.gov.uk.
The IP Crime Report 2008/9 can be found at www.ipo.gov.uk/ipcreport08.pdf

Serious and Organised Crime Agency

The Serious and Organised Crime Agency came into effect on 1 April 2006. It took over the functions of the National Crime Squad (NCS), the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), the role of HM Customs and Excise in investigating drug trafficking and related criminal finance and some of the functions of the UK Immigration Service (UKIS) in dealing with organised immigration crime.

SOCA recognises IP crime as a serious and organised criminal activity and lists counterfeiting as one of the Home Secretary’s priorities. Further information regarding the work of SOCA can be found at www.soca.gov.uk

The Alliance is a member of the Programme 17 Board which considers the threat pose to the UK by IP Crime in a serious and organised crime context.  Through its Tactical Group, led by Detective Superintendent Wishart of the City of London Police, it is using the intelligence gathered to inform operational law enforcement activity.