Intellectual Property Crime
Intellectual property crime (IPC) is the counterfeiting and piracy of trademarked and copyrighted products and services. Fake products occur in abundance in all industry sectors. They include designer fashion, luxury goods, electrical equipment, audio visual, toys, games, drinks, cigarettes, pharmaceutical products and automotive parts. The range of goods being copied and illegally reproduced is growing, extending to such diverse products as counterfeit razor blades, motorbikes and crane spare parts.
The threat extends to organized crime and has a serious impact on the economy, harms consumers and local communities. There is a serious threat to consumer safety, where goods have not undergone product safety testing. Both the economy of country and businesses are suffering from IPC. The seriousness of this impact should not be underestimated. For example the liquidation of Apolo Video Film Hire Ltd which had over 100 rental shops. The impact from piracy and illegal downloading were amongst the principal reasons leading the firm to stop trading. There is the impact on local communities. Criminals are using illegal immigrants to sell pirated goods. Criminals are exploiting children and grooming them into a criminal lifestyle.
There is also the loss of revenue to Government in taxes. This is difficult to quantify, but tax losses range from corporate tax to VAT and excise tax on alcohol and cigarettes. An estimate of 2 billion cigarettes were counterfeit and that the total trade of 18.5 billion non UK duty paid cigarettes cost the taxpayer $ 2.9 billion. In the EU the statistics for 2006 show that the number of cases taken by customs involving goods infringing intellectual property rights have increased dramatically since the previous year. In 2006 customs intercepted more than 128 million counterfeit and pirated articles involving over 37,000 cases. The EU records that almost 60% of articles seized in 2006 were cigarettes. The amount of other goods seized has jumped by 25% compared to 2005.
Organized crime groups are involved in the distribution of counterfeit DVDs. The British music industry released new piracy figures based on the purchasing behavior of the buyers of fake CDs. The industry's losses from commercial music piracy in the UK amount to $ 165 m in retail value. Global Software Piracy Study shows that rates of illegal software use within the EU remain around 36% with losses to industry of around$ l billion. The internet has facilitated a startling growth in volume and breadth of illicit trade. The music industry suffers from two problems, infringing optical disc production on an industrial scale and the use of record or sell infringing content.
The counterfeiting and piracy are global phenomena. 79% of all articles seized originate from China. A small percentage of high grade counterfeit music products are manufactured in genuine CD plants. Most of the product is “home” produced. These products originate largely from Russia. Large quantities of electrical goods are entering the UK from the Far East. American International Ltd (Bench and Hooch trademarks) have noted that counterfeits of their products and generic items are being imported from India, Pakistan and Turkey. Physical copies of films, music, games and software are less likely to be imported into the country. These products are manufactured in the UK for distribution online and physical markets.
Notes
intellectual property crime – нарушение интеллектуальной собственности
counterfeit – подделка
to occur – происходить
safety– безопасность
to suffer –страдать
to undergo – подвергаться (чему-л.)
to underestimate – недооценивать
revenue – доход
tax – налог
VAT (value added tax) – налог на добавленную стоимость
excises –акциз
to infringe –нарушать, переступать
purchasing – закупка
to facilitate –содействовать
distribution – распространение
2. Read the text again to answer the following questions:
1.What is IP crime?
2. What areas does IP crime occur in?
3. What do criminals usually counterfeit?
4. What harm is caused by IP crime?
5. What counterfeits are dangerous to consumers?
6. What is the difference between the crime rate in 2005 and in 2006?
7. What branch of industry sufferedfrom IP crime most of all?
8. Where are counterfeit products of different countries manufactured? Why?
3. Translate the following words and word combinations from English into Russian:
to climb, to decline, to decrease, to dive, drop, double, to expand, to edge up, to edge down, to fall, to fluctuate, to go down, to go up, to grow, halve, to hit a low, to improve, to increase, to increase tenfold, to pick up, to plunge, quadruple, raise, to reach, to recover, to rise, to remain stable, to stabilize, to stay the same, triple, criminal, product, to manufacture.
4. Find the English equivalents for the following words and phrases:
преступление, пиратство, торговая марка, подделка, ассортимент товаров, наносить ущерб, потребители, безопасность, доходы государства, акцизы на алкоголь и сигареты, статистика, таможенное управление, перехватывать, музыкальная индустрия, поведение покупателей, незаконное использование, производить, распространять.