Social Media’s impact on Intellectual Property Rights

This is a draft chapter. The final version is available in Handbook of Research on Counterfeiting and Illicit Trade, edited by Peggy E. Chaudhry, published in 2017 by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785366451. This material is for private use only, and cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher.Peer reviewe

Measuring Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights

© Crown Copyright 2014. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov. uk/doc/open-government-licence/ Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concernedThe review is wide-ranging in scope and overall our findings evidence a lack of appreciation among those producing research for the high-level principles of measurement and assessment of scale. To date, the approaches adopted by industry seem more designed for internal consumption and are usually contingent on particular technologies and/or sector perspectives. Typically, there is a lack of transparency in the methodologies and data used to form the basis of claims, making much of this an unreliable basis for policy formulation. The research approaches we found are characterised by a number of features that can be summarised as a preference for reactive approaches that look to establish snapshots of an important issue at the time of investigation. Most studies are ad hoc in nature and on the whole we found a lack of sustained longitudinal approaches that would develop the appreciation of change. Typically the studies are designed to address specific hypotheses that might serve to support the position of the particular commissioning body. To help bring some structure to this area, we propose a framework for the assessment of the volume of infringement in each different area. The underlying aim is to draw out a common approach wherever possible in each area, rather than being drawn initially to the differences in each field. We advocate on-going survey tracking of the attitudes, perceptions and, where practical, behaviours of both perpetrators and claimants in IP infringement. Clearly, the nature of perpetrators, claimants and enforcement differs within each IPR but in our view the assessment for each IPR should include all of these elements. It is important to clarify that the key element of the survey structure is the adoption of a survey sampling methodology and smaller volumes of representative participation. Once selection is given the appropriate priority, a traditional offline survey will have a part to play, but as the opportunity arises, new technological methodologies, particularly for the voluntary monitoring of online behaviour, can add additional detail to the overall assessment of the scale of activity. This framework can be applied within each of the IP right sectors: copyright, trademarks,patents, and design rights. It may well be that the costs involved with this common approach could be mitigated by a syndicated approach to the survey elements. Indeed, a syndicated approach has a number of advantages in addition to cost. It could be designed to reduce any tendency either to hide inappropriate/illegal activity or alternatively exaggerate its volume to fit with the theme of the survey. It also has the scope to allow for monthly assessments of attitudes rather than being vulnerable to unmeasured seasonal impacts

Counterfeit goods fraud: an account of its financial management

Counterfeit goods fraud is stated to be one of the fastest growing businesses in the world. Academic work examining the flows of counterfeit goods is beginning to build momentum. However, work analysing the financial mechanisms that enable the trade has been less forthcoming. This is despite the fact that over the last two decades official and media discourses have paid increasing attention to ‘organised crime’ finances in general. Based on an exploratory study that brought together academic researchers and law enforcement practitioners from the UK’s National Trading Standards, the aim of the current article is to offer an account of the financial management in the counterfeit goods trade. Focusing on tangible goods, the article addresses the ways in which capital is secured to allow counterfeiting businesses to be initiated and sustained, how entrepreneurs and customers settle payments, and how profits from the business are spent and invested. The study covers the UK in the broader context of what is a distinctly transnational trade

Alibaba, Amazon, and Counterfeiting in the Age of the Internet

The advent of e-commerce marketplaces such as Alibaba and Amazon in the new millennium has led to the proliferation of the sale of counterfeit goods around the world through the Internet. Brand owners find that Internet counterfeiters operating in the digital world present even more challenges than those using only brick-and-mortar operations. Internet counterfeiters have unprecedented access to consumers. They use false identities and addresses and vanish into cyberspace at the first sign of trouble. Brand owners seeking help from Alibaba and Amazon to remove listings of counterfeits have become frustrated by their convoluted and labyrinthine notice and take-down procedures. Even when these procedures are used successfully, brand owners find that the process can take months only to have the counterfeiter reappear in short order using a new false identity. Many brand owners find that dealing with Alibaba and Amazon only adds to their misery and believe that both tolerate counterfeits as they earn revenue from all sales, including sales of counterfeit goods. This Article sets forth for the first time how brand owners can use a set of currently available information technology tools to help create an effective deterrent to counterfeits on the Internet. Using these tools, brand owners can force counterfeiters to abandon the subterfuge and disguise that they rely on so that brand owners can—without the assistance of e-commerce platforms—directly pursue counterfeiters in civil and criminal actions in China where most of the counterfeiters are located and in the United States. The proposed approach should help deter counterfeiters who always work in secrecy and disguise by exposing them to what they fear and loathe the most: transparency and accountability for their illegal actions

Anti-Counterfeiting Warnings: Do they Influence Consumer Behavior and Perception of Overt Indicators?

This study examined if overt anti-counterfeiting indicators on product packages and warning labels added to the product, informing that the product might be a counterfeit, influenced participants to spend more time examining the product package for genuineness. The overt indicators used were a QR code, and a holographic security tag that were added to packages as a sticker. There was little research regarding what consumers were looking for when examining a product package to determine if the product was genuine or counterfeit. Arguments for both involving the consumers in the counterfeit identification process, and not involving the consumers in this process were found in previous literature. In this study, the participants wore a set of eye tracking glasses and were given 13 different products to examine, some with no added indicators, some with added QR code indicator, and some with holographic security tag added indicator. Half of the subjects saw the added warning label sticker, and the other half saw the same products with no added warning label. After the participants finished viewing each of the products, they filled out a survey that asked them if they thought the product was genuine or counterfeit, how likely they would be to purchase the product, how much they trusted that the product, and what it was about the product that made them rate it this way. The total amount of time that the participants spent examining the product package, as well as the total amount of time the participants spent examining the added overt anti-counterfeiting indicators on the product package were measured as well. The results revealed that the warning label did have an overall effect on the total amount of time that the participants spent examining the product package, and there was no difference on total time between the two types of indicators. Participants did not pay more attention to one indicator over the other. Further research will be needed to examine true counterfeit products when compared to genuine products, after the addition of the warning labels and the overt anti-counterfeiting indicators to the product package

Crime and its Control in the People's Republic of China

The Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong was established in 1999 to provide a home for indigenous studies of crime and criminal justice in Hong Kong and the region. As part of this objective it sought to provide a platform for both academics and practitioners to share their knowledge and to assist in the development of effective strategies to deal with the increasingly sophisticated problem of crime. The annual symposium on 'Crime and its Control in Greater China' functions as a forum to discuss interdisciplinary research on crime relevant to Greater China. The various components of Greater China have common cultural, linguistic and economic bonds that give rise to some similar crime problems and opportunities to resolve them. Therefore it seemed appropriate that both scholars and practitioners from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan should meet to discuss their research on these issues. In the furtherance of these objectives it has been gratifying that the Chinese Peoples' Public Security University has participated in these events and co-hosted the 3rd Symposium. They also organised a Symposium in Beijing in 2002 to discuss ‘Criminal Trends and Countermeasures’and invited the Centre for Criminology to co-host, that event. This is the type of synergy that our annual event aspires to generate. A conscious intention of the annual symposium is to be broad in terms of both the range of topics covered and the depth of experience of the speakers. For this reason the symposium has provided a platform for postgraduate students to introduce their research as well as for well-established scholars with an international reputation for excellence in their chosen area of research. To further the concept of providing a bridge between academia and practice, several speakers are usually invited from the private sector to present their views on the problems and issues that concern them. These proceedings provide a record of selected papers presented at the various symposia and demonstrate the wide variety of topics covered and interests of speakers. I hope this bilingual event will help to fill the need that exists for a joint effort to review and discuss developments in criminology relevant to Greater China

Analysis on the future of financial market in China - challenges & impact of the issuance of Dcep

Under the post-coronavirus context of international environment, where the economic and financial connections between countries will begin recovering and becoming tighter, the issuance of DCEP by the People’s Bank of China will inevitably have a strong impact upon the current domestic and international financial market order. The aim of this piece of tesis is to have a detailed discussion on the challenges and impact of the issuance of this Central Bank-issued Digital Currency in China, through the analysis upon respective information and newly updated materials regarding DCEP, and to discover the future of the financial market in China