The UK government has launched a consultation on increasing the penalties surrounding commercial copyright infringement.
Government plans propose to raise the punishment from two to ten years imprisonment.
Currently commercial-scale online copyright infringement is only punishable by a maximum of two years behind bars. In comparison the maximum sentence for physical goods infringement is 10 years.
Neville-Rolfe, intellectual property minister baroness, said: ‘The government takes copyright crime extremely seriously - it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy both on and offline. Our creative industries are worth more than £7bn to the UK economy and it’s important to protect them from online criminal enterprises.
‘By toughening penalties for commercial-scale online offending we are offering greater protections to businesses and sending a clear message to deter criminals.’
Previous government figures revealed that the UK’s creative industries, including film, television and music, are worth £7.1bn per year to the UK economy and support more than 1.6m jobs.
View the consultation.
Government plans propose to raise the punishment from two to ten years imprisonment.
Currently commercial-scale online copyright infringement is only punishable by a maximum of two years behind bars. In comparison the maximum sentence for physical goods infringement is 10 years.
Neville-Rolfe, intellectual property minister baroness, said: ‘The government takes copyright crime extremely seriously - it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy both on and offline. Our creative industries are worth more than £7bn to the UK economy and it’s important to protect them from online criminal enterprises.
‘By toughening penalties for commercial-scale online offending we are offering greater protections to businesses and sending a clear message to deter criminals.’
Previous government figures revealed that the UK’s creative industries, including film, television and music, are worth £7.1bn per year to the UK economy and support more than 1.6m jobs.
View the consultation.
