Intellectual property crime and counterfeiting

At INTERPOL, we are working to identify, disrupt and dismantle transnational organized networks behind intellectual property (IP) crime.

Trademark (counterfeiting) and copyright (piracy) infringements are serious IP crimes. They defraud consumers; threaten the health of patients; cost society billions of dollars in lost government revenues, foreign investments or business profits; and violate the rights of trademark, patent, and copyright owners.

Major risks to consumers

Imitation products pose a significant safety threat to consumers worldwide.

For example, unsuspecting members of the public can put not only their health in jeopardy but also their life when they use counterfeit products, such as substandard electrical goods or personal care products, or when they travel in vehicles maintained with counterfeit parts.

Also of concern is the increasing prevalence of fake and substandard food and drink and the obvious health risks that they pose.

INTERPOL's response

Our activities revolve around three main areas:

•  Operations: we support regional and global operations to break up the networks behind IP crime and to remove dangerous and sub-standard goods from circulation.

•  Training: we deliver clear, consistent and specialized IP crime training programmes under the umbrella of the International IP Crime Investigators College (IIPCIC). These enable investigators to effectively combat current and emerging threats.

•  Information exchange: we facilitate the sharing of intelligence on IP crime via our secure police communications system and specialized Database on International Intellectual Property (DIIP) Crime. The database helps us to analyse trends and better target our on-the-ground interventions.

Additionally, we provide a central reference point on transnational organized IP crime for all INTERPOL member countries and public and private stakeholders. We work to build  partnerships with a wide range of representatives across sectors in order to facilitate a multidisciplinary response to this complex issue. We currently partner with more than 40 different industry sectors and a number of cross-industry associations and representative bodies.  

As part of this, we organize and participate in a number of international and cross-sector  events and conferences. We are interested in cooperating with law enforcement authorities, the public and private sectors in the fight against transnational organized IP crime. If you represent one of these entities and would like to have further information about IP crime matters please  contact us.