The number of top UK ads on copyright infringing websites has dropped by 73 percent since the launch of Operation Creative, a new Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) initiative.
Reducing advertising on illegal sites is one of the key aims of Operation Creative since its launch in 2013.
A report by the Digital Citizens Alliance estimated that in 2013 piracy websites generated $227m (£145m) from advertising.
Ads on illegal websites lends them a look of legitimacy but often take the user to malware and viruses or even fraudulent scams.
Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, minister for Intellectual Property (IP), said: ‘The government takes copyright infringement extremely seriously - it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy.
‘The results of Operation Creative show what can be achieved when enforcement agencies, industry and government work together. I am delighted PIPCU are clamping down on advertising of things like pop music and gambling on copyright infringing sites - protecting our industries and consumers from online crime.’
PIPCU is a specialist national police unit from the City of London Police and dedicated to protecting UK industries that produce legitimate, high quality, physical goods and online digital content from IP crime.
The independent initiative launched in September 2013 and is funded by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) until 2017.
Reducing advertising on illegal sites is one of the key aims of Operation Creative since its launch in 2013.
A report by the Digital Citizens Alliance estimated that in 2013 piracy websites generated $227m (£145m) from advertising.
Ads on illegal websites lends them a look of legitimacy but often take the user to malware and viruses or even fraudulent scams.
Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, minister for Intellectual Property (IP), said: ‘The government takes copyright infringement extremely seriously - it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy.
‘The results of Operation Creative show what can be achieved when enforcement agencies, industry and government work together. I am delighted PIPCU are clamping down on advertising of things like pop music and gambling on copyright infringing sites - protecting our industries and consumers from online crime.’
PIPCU is a specialist national police unit from the City of London Police and dedicated to protecting UK industries that produce legitimate, high quality, physical goods and online digital content from IP crime.
The independent initiative launched in September 2013 and is funded by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) until 2017.
