UKIPO targets lower costs for blocking IP-infringing sites

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has said it is considering ways to make blocking of IP-infringing websites cheaper for rights owners.

It is just one of the ways the IPO is looking to reduce the costs shouldered by IP rights owners in its ‘Corporate Plan 2018-19’, published on June 11.

The IPO said it will explore options including cutting of court costs, time taken to bring cases to court and more administrative approaches, such as site-blocking injunctions.

Another area of focus for the IPO is understanding how consumers view online infringement. The IPO said that it needs a better view of consumer attitudes to IP crime in order to begin working towards making IP infringement “socially unacceptable”.

According to the office,  it will work with the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) in supporting a proposed roundtable project.

This initiative is part of the DCMS’s 2018 ‘Creative Industries Sectors Deal’. The aim is to discuss how to reduce the number of illegal sites in the online advertising industry, on social media and in online marketplaces.

In order to achieve this, the IPO said it will work alongside the creative industries to develop appropriate voluntary measures targeting online marketplaces, social media and digital advertising.

“A key aspect will be ensuring [the roundtables] are used effectively to assess the evidence for, and where appropriate, to agree future action to tackle the infringement of IP rights online,” explained the IPO.

The office said that the UK’s IP regime will need to remain up to date to meet the demands of evolving technology and for when the country leaves the EU.

According to the IPO, the UK referendum result (in June 2016) triggered a change in the UK’s international IP agenda, adding that businesses in the UK are often concerned about the outlook for IP after the Brexit process has been completed.

The IPO highlighted that in order to address this, it must promote and develop effective IP enforcement across the globe to encourage innovation and trade opportunities. This includes sharing UK expertise in IP enforcement and reducing online counterfeiting and piracy.