UK Government Unveils £2.5m Piracy Police Unit

A police unit to target online piracy and other intellectual property crimes was announced today, as the government said it would pump £2.5 million into the division over the next two years.

It will be part of the City of London Police and is backed by funding from the Intellectual Property Office (part of the department of Business, Innovation and Skills). It should be operational by September.

The Intellectual Property Crime Unit was initially announced by business secretary Vince Cable in December, as the government looks to protect the creative industries.

Piracy police unit

“Intellectual property crime is costing the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds each year, with organised crime gangs causing significant damage to industries that produce legitimate, high quality, physical goods and online and digital content in an increasingly competitive climate,” said Commissioner of the City of London Police, Adrian Leppard.

“The establishment of a new online intellectual property crime unit is evidence of the government and City of London Police’s commitment to confront this threat.

“Together we are creating an operationally independent police unit that will coordinate the national and international response from law enforcement and public and private sector partners so we can effectively target those who continue to illegally profiteer on the back of others endeavours.”

According to the police force, seven million people a month visit sites offering illegal goods. And a Creative Coalition’s TERA Report from 2010 suggested up to a quarter of a million jobs in the UK are at risk because of copyright infringement.

Yet others believe the government is being a little too heavy-handed in its war on piracy. Earlier this month, UK police started sending letters to torrent site operators, threatening with legal action if they did not stop illegal operations. It’s a similar tactic to what copyright holders have previously pushed for.

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