Trade Secret Misappropriation in UK. Intellectual property is a category of property that includes intangible creations from the human mind – such rights can exist in a song, design, brand or invention (among other things). Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property, which relate to confidential information held by companies – they include practices, patterns and instruments that have economic value because they are not known by others. Under the criminal law, the use of such rights without the owner’s permission can amount to a criminal offence.
Intellectual property crime may not leave a person battered or a home raided, but it penetrates all areas of society and has staggering implications for businesses. Indeed, trade in counterfeit products costs the UK economy billions of pounds each year in forgone company sales and tax revenues. Private prosecutions are an effective tool – against large or small targets – to combat this type of crime, which results in huge financial loss to companies.
Edmonds Marshall McMahon is a unique firm of former government prosecutors and investigators, and we are experts in prosecuting intellectual property offences. We work with some of the most experienced intellectual property crime investigators in the country to ensure an effective, compliant and successful investigation. Alongside our lawyers, we have a dedicated investigations team comprising former investigators from the Serious Fraud Office and detectives from the Metropolitan Police. We work closely with our firm’s investigators to gather the best evidence to take cases forward. We also assist our clients to present “prosecution ready” cases to state agencies (such as the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit) for prosecution.
