Welcome

May 2023 is Intellectual Property Crime Month at The Financial Crime Forum: Online.

Today, we start the series of three Fora with Intellectual Property Crime in the Arts and Entertainment.

In two weeks, the second Forum deals with counterfeit pharmaceuticals, a double edged topic looking at both the commercial aspects of counterfeits and the often deadly effects of adulterated or badly mixed product, the most headline grabbing of which is, at present Fentanyl while the most widespread problem is addition to opioids. Add in counterfeit cigarettes with dangerous levels of poisons and counterfeit alcohol and foodstuffs, also containing poisons, and this aspect of counterfeiting is far more than the financial wellbeing of companies, their employees and talent: it's a question of public health and, even, life and death.

Two weeks after that, the final Forum in this series is on counterfeits in the commercial supply chain. Counterfeit car parts such as brake pads made of cardboard and even components fitted to the US Presidential Jet over a period of ten years have fallen out of the public consciousness but they are important landmarks in defining the scope and scale of the problem. Counterfeit perfumes and other cosmetics are an enormous business - and sometimes dangerous as they bypass all national health department checks. In the early 2000s, a single gang was responsible for the production and distribution of watches (which were actually of a reasonable quality) with the same design but with various well known logos attached. This shows that there are actually two different problems: the copying of designs and the affixing of brands.

Today, the topic is intellectual property crime in the Arts and Entertainment. It's often termed "piracy" but I'd rather we stay away from that term in this context because, for us, Piracy has a very specific meaning in relation to maritime, air and other forms of transport.

Let's start with a surprising statement: crimes of illegal replication of artistic materials are an example of where the state steps in to protect private rights. That is done by the passing of explicit legislation. It is this that converts unlawful conduct into illegal conduct.

The primary driver of this legislation is the American Film, TV and Music companies. They have lobbied hard, all over the world, for laws to protect their products and in most countries have found willing, even enthusiastic support from local members of those industries. It's been a battle that has raged for decades.

In the 1960s, for example, in the USA, it was a crime to hold a genuine copy of a film outside the official distribution channels.

Art forgery? New wine on old bottles? Even hand-stamped coins. All of these are ancient techniques.

In the rest of my time before I welcome the first of our speakers, I'm going to give some anecdotes to set the scene for the remainder of this Forum.

Let's get to it.....