Although unfair competition encompasses a range of behaviours, they are characterised by bad faith, dishonesty and fraud. Intellectual property offences provide well-known examples of unfair competition – these include counterfeiting, trade secret misappropriation and design right infringement. As you may know, 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). 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.
Edmonds Marshall McMahon is a unique firm of former government prosecutors and investigators, and we are experts in prosecuting intellectual property offences. Indeed private prosecutions are an effective tool – against large or small targets – to combat this type of crime. We work with some of the most experienced intellectual property crime investigators in the country to ensure an effective, compliant and successful investigation. We also assist our clients to present “prosecution ready” cases to state agencies (such as the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit) for prosecution.
