Industry Welcomes Intellectual Property Unit

The money, which will be spread over two years, will come from the Intellectual Property Unit and help the City of London Police set up a new team dedicated to tackling the problem.

It will mainly focus on offenses committed online.

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) will work to protect industries that produce legitimate, high-quality digital content and physical goods which are sold online.

These industries are said to be losing hundreds of millions of pounds to organised crime each year.

“The UK is one of the world’s leading nations in developing artists and producing popular music. So it is only right that our copyright framework should protect, promote and reward creators, music businesses and investors in talent,” said BPI chief exec Geoff Taylor.

The government is also aiding the indie sector with a £3 million ($4.78 million) grant to help it grow its overseas markets.

The Music Export Growth Scheme will be run by UK Trade & Investment and the BPI.

It will offer grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 to support small and medium-sized distributors.