Following a consultation launched by the Intellectual Property Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, anyone found to be infringing on online content owned by another party could soon face a longer jail sentence than allowed at present.
Currently, the maximum sentence that can be given for online copyright offences is two years in prison, under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, if the new proposals are implemented, large-scale copyright offenders could face up to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The move would be made in order to ensure that online intellectual property offences are punished in line with those involving physical products.
Creative industries such as film, television and music, are responsible for over 1.6 million jobs in the UK, according to a recent report.
A change to legislation would ensure further protection for businesses working in the creative sector, deterring large-scale online copyright offenders from targeting their original content.
Prior to the consultation being launched, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the intellectual property minister, said: “The Government takes copyright crime extremely seriously – it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy both on and offline.
“Our creative industries are worth more than £7bn to the UK economy and it’s important to protect them from online criminal enterprises.”
“By toughening penalties for commercial-scale online offending we are offering greater protections to businesses and sending a clear message to deter criminals.”