The Act does not create new offences but updates the criminal
provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents (CDPA) Act of
1998, to bring them in line with the penalties already provided for
trade mark infringement. It also amends the Trade Marks Act of 1994
in respect of search warrants and powers of seizure.
Specifically, the maximum penalty for certain offences under the
CDPA will be increased from two to ten years in prison and an
unlimited fine.
These offences include making or dealing with infringing copies
of copyrighted material or articles designed for making such
copies, making or dealing with illicit recordings of performances
and dealing with any device designed or adopted to decode an
encrypted transmission (i.e. unauthorised decoders).
The Act also provides for quicker search warrants and gives
police the authority to seize PCs, servers and other equipment of
companies using unlicensed software or breaching the terms of their
licenses. It is noted that, until now, police could only seize
equipment of traders or importers of illicit material.
The Copyright, etc. and Trade Marks (Offences and Enforcement)
Act 2002 can be found at:
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020025.htm
