Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter actively “encourage Intellectual Property (IP) infringement,” a new study suggests.
The comments accompany a new report published by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in recent days, which echoes concerns previously raised by Government enforcement agencies that the hyper-connectivity of the digital age is enabling counterfeit trade on a mass scale.
The IPO carried out extensive research into the role that social media typically plays in the sale and distribution of counterfeit physical goods.
It found that “counterfeiters see social media as a haven” to sell fake and pirated products and to establish regular trade networks.
It added that, on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, counterfeiters are using ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ to “disseminate their offerings.”
“The social media platforms make it easy to move channels by establishing fan pages and making it possible to carry out transactions on or off the social media platform,” the IPO said.
Facebook in particular faced substantial criticism in the IPO’s report, after it was revealed that “Facebook groups represented the most exposed location for suspect communications, with suspect activity being much more prevalent in closed groups.”
However the IPO said it was no surprise that Facebook had become “a favourite for counterfeit sellers,” as the social media site is now considered the ‘default’ social networking platform for some 96 per cent of all UK adults.
Going forward, the IPO acknowledged that determining the full scale of infringement and how counterfeiters are going about getting their products into the hands of customers would pose an entirely new challenge.
The IPO’s full report can be accessed here.