Intellectual Property Crime: The Urgent Need for Global Attention

Abstract

In the last couple of months I have spent considerable time with police officials in India. I am worried, very worried about the conversations I have had with them which were largely centred around the state of the informal economy, in which Intellectual Property (IP) crime plays a huge part. The most unsettling linkage is the one between the proceeds of IP crimes and terrorist activities. A senior police officer with whom I have had extensive discussions on the subject acknowledged some recent reports that many terrorist organisations now source their funding through IP crimes. According to him the terrorist outfits or organised criminal networks do not operate in a vacuum but very much in the real world. They need an interface with real commerce in order to fund their nefarious activities. These organisations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are beginning to control the majority of IP crimes that are taking place, particularly in developing countries. The officer claims that in his state alone (India has 28 states) rampant music piracy results in a massive loss to the economy. He estimates that the size of the informal music sector is at least 12 times the size of legitimate industry. He does not stop there and quotes many more examples from fake designer goods to more serious instances, such as counterfeit drugs, food products and adulterated petrol, which have major health and safety implications. This analysis of the situation in India also applies to other high-growth countries as well as some Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Most global surveys however frequently cite the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations as the worst IP offenders. The BRIC economies are playing a major role in global economic growth and weak IP regimes in these countries are a cause of major concern for companies that sell products into these markets.