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Intellectual property (IP) crime comes in many forms, but it generally involves counterfeiting (infringement of trade marks) and piracy (infringement of copyright). IP crime can relate to digital or physical products:

• Digital IP crime is criminal activity related to digital formats which are protected by copyright, including music, films, software and video games. It covers both copying and distribution of digital files carried out in the course of business, or carried out to such a degree that it has a prejudicial impact.
• Physical IP crime is criminal activity relating to the counterfeiting of physical products and the infringement of trade marks by copying the branding. It covers a wide range of items from pharmaceuticals and healthcare products to pesticides, tobacco and alcohol, industrial products such as aeroplane spare parts and luxury goods. Physical IP crime also includes copyright piracy of non-digital products such as books, CDs and DVDs.

Protecting your business from counterfeit goods

Counterfeit goods may look like the real thing, but they are unlikely to meet the quality standards you expect from the original. More importantly, counterfeit goods will probably not meet safety standards and this can be extremely dangerous for users and they should be treated as goods of unknown risk. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals, alcohol, electrical products and power tools can be very dangerous for consumers.

Other problems associated with counterfeit goods include the lack of consistency and traceability and a lack of redress if something goes wrong with the purchase. When goods are bought online there is the additional risk of identity theft and fraud if personal information is misused by the criminals online. Furthermore, using pirated software could leave your IT systems exposed to malware or viruses.

Businesses may encounter IP crime in a variety of ways - they may be victims of IP crime or they might be committing acts that infringe the IP of another party. If you buy and then sell counterfeit or pirate goods in the course of your own business you run the risk of committing a criminal offence. Even if you do so unwittingly, you are still at risk of prosecution and you may be open to civil action by the rights holder. You need to have systems in place to prevent problems, and also to deal with problems if they come to light - ie 'due diligence' procedures.

To enforce your intellectual property (IP) rights, you first need to make sure you have the correct level of legal IP protection. These vary according to the particular type of asset, but will usually include:

• trade marks
• copyright
• patents
• designs

Once you have the appropriate form of protection, you need to monitor its use.

How to monitor against IP infringement

Once you secure your IP rights, you should continually monitor against possible infringement and crime. Here are some practical steps you can take to monitor against IP infringement:

• Put in place early warning systems so you know as soon as possible if counterfeit or pirated copies of your products are being made or sold. Ask your customers, suppliers and employees to help with this.
• Ensure that your branded goods have packaging with special devices such as holographs, codes, watermarks, radio-frequency identification tags or integrated serial-number plates, and make sure that the enforcement agencies know how to read these devices. It also helps to change packaging designs slightly to frustrate counterfeiters.
• Protect digital assets with watermarking, coding, encryption and other digital devices to frustrate potential pirates and counterfeiters.
• Make sure that IP registrations are secure and up to date.
• Maintain secure inventories, shred or eliminate sensitive waste, and ensure that all designs, design elements and production components are properly protected.
• Avoid the use of counterfeit components in your products. Avoid also the infiltration of counterfeit goods into your supply chain. To help with this, you can .

You will need to keep all of your protection mechanisms under review, and amend them regularly in the light of new threats.

Your business workplace may also be used as a site for IP crime. For more information, read about IP crime in the workplace.

Trade associations

Some businesses choose to join a trade association to help them protect their rights. These exist for different kinds of products, ranging from music to software, electrical products to luxury goods. These organisations can provide additional expertise and resources to pursue IP infringement and help prevent IP crime.

Protecting your goods from infringing imports

If you suspect that goods infringing your rights are arriving at UK borders, you should lodge an Application for Action (AFA) with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If border officers then identify counterfeit goods being imported, they can detain them, giving you time to launch court action.

You will have to confirm with officials that the goods are infringing your rights, and may have to pay the costs of seizing and storing the goods.

Find further guidance on .

Working environments can represent a lucrative potential market place for sales of counterfeit and pirated goods. Sometimes it is an employee who uses the resources of the business to create or distribute counterfeit or pirate products. In other cases, it is people who come into workplaces to sell fake or pirated goods.

You should make your employees aware of how important intellectual property (IP) rights are to your business and that respect for other people's IP rights is equally important.

As well as ensuring they understand the restrictions on how other people's IP rights can be used, they should also realise the serious nature of trading in illegal goods and act appropriately.

Policies and procedure to protect your IP

You should have policies and procedures in place that employees are aware of, about how you will deal with incidences of IP crime occurring within your workplace. Ask your employees to inform you if itinerant sellers attempt to come into your workplace to deal in suspect goods, and tell your local trading standards office.

As well as thinking about the activities of your staff, it is important to be aware of the risk of infringing IP rights as a business - either unwittingly (eg by continuing to use licensed material after your licence has expired) or deliberately by employees (eg an IT manager cutting costs by installing pirated software).

If legal action is taken against the business in the civil courts you may be ordered to pay high costs and damages, and it is possible that you may even be charged with a criminal offence.

One of the most important things a business can do is introduce and maintain a culture that makes staff aware that IP infringement is as much a crime as financial theft. Ensure that everyone realises the importance of protecting the business' IP rights by reminding them regularly that IP crime will impact on the future of the business and therefore on their livelihoods. Combating IP crime is a partnership that involves everyone in a business - employees, management, suppliers and customers.