Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyers

The growing impact of counterfeiting on businesses

Trade in counterfeit products has significant financial and commercial consequences, costing the UK economy billions each year through lost sales and reduced tax revenues.

For individual businesses, the impact is often more immediate and damaging, involving the erosion of brand value, loss of control over distribution channels and exposure to reputational risk where counterfeit goods are substandard or unsafe.

Counterfeiting operations are also increasingly sophisticated and frequently cross-border, making them harder to detect and disrupt. That’s why effective, proactive enforcement is critical to protecting brand integrity and long-term commercial value.

Building prosecution-ready IP enforcement cases

At Edmonds Marshall McMahon, our intellectual property (IP) crime lawyers work closely with clients to build robust, prosecution-ready cases for referral to enforcement bodies, including the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit. We ensure that evidence is meticulously prepared, strategically presented and aligned with the requirements of criminal prosecution.

We also collaborate with leading intellectual property crime investigators to deliver thorough, legally compliant investigations. This integrated approach maximises the prospects of successful enforcement action and ensures that the infringing activity is identified, evidenced and brought to a decisive conclusion.

Our intellectual property enforcement work

Trade mark offences

A trade mark is any sign which can distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another. It is closely associated with business image, goodwill and reputation.

Private prosecutions are an effective tool in tackling counterfeiting and the resulting financial losses. At Edmonds Marshall McMahon, we regularly prosecute offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, particularly unauthorised use of trade marks under section 92. We also pursue confiscation, forfeiture and deprivation orders against convicted defendants where appropriate.

Registered design infringement

The Intellectual Property Act 2014 criminalises the infringement of registered designs and allows intellectual property owners to defend their property.

In practice, it is uncommon for the Crown Prosecution Service, Intellectual Property Office or the specialist Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) to commence criminal investigations or prosecutions for design infringement. That is why designers are increasingly using private prosecutions to safeguard their rights.

Tobacco and related products offences

Our intellectual property crime solicitors have conducted numerous prosecutions under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, which govern the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco-related products, including e-cigarettes and herbal smoking products.

The Regulations impose requirements such as minimum health warnings, standardised packaging and restrictions on the content of e-cigarettes and refill containers.

Examples of recent prosecutions include:

• investigating and prosecuting large-scale conspiracies to distribute illicit tobacco products for major tobacco companies;
• prosecuting intellectual property infringements and breaches of mandatory health warning requirements on behalf of tobacco companies;
• pursuing regulatory offences for excess nicotine content in e-cigarette products falsely attributed to manufacturers.

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