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Written question asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour) on Friday, 9 December 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 23 December 2016. It was answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative) on Tuesday, 20 December 2016 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Electrical Goods: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action are they taking to stop counterfeit electrical goods being sold online.

Answer

The Government takes the issue of IP infringement seriously, including counterfeit electrical goods, and is working with industry and law enforcement agencies on a number of initiatives to tackle this issue.

The Police IP Crime Unit, launched in September 2013, has had a significant impact having arrested over 70 people and suspended over 11,000 internet domains. In 2014/15 Border Force detained over 1.6 Million IP infringing items, if genuine the retail value would have been in excess of £56 million. Ongoing enforcement initiatives include Operation Jasper, which is addressing the use of social media to sell counterfeit items and work by National Trading Standards and the IPO Intelligence Hub to deal with the risks posed by ‘fulfilment houses’ that supply many counterfeit items purchased online.

Officials have also met online retailers to discuss the availability of counterfeits on their platforms and to help co-ordinate law enforcement action against sellers.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3996
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Counterfeit manufacturing Electrical goods Internet Sales
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk