The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has called on the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to deliver on the promises outlined in the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property on criminal sentencing, calling on crimes committed in the online arena to match those in the physical arena.

The IPO’s consultation, Taking Forward the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, Penalties for Copyright Infringement – currently underway – has failed to take into account Recommendation 36 from Gowers, according to FAST.

John Lovelock, Chief Executive of FAST, says: ”Recommendation 36 of Gowers clearly states that the penalty for online commercial copyright infringement should be increased to ten years’ imprisonment to bring parity with commercial dealing in [physical] pirated works. Nowhere in this [IPO] consultation document is this referred to.”

“The proposals in the consultation document leave the custodial sentences for copyright offence unchanged: the maximum sentence in the Crown Court for the commission of online infringement still remains at two years, compared to ten years for commercially dealing in or distributing infringed goods in the physical world,” added Lovelock.

The Gowers Review itself stated: “The intention and impact of physical and online infringement are the same. Crimes committed on the online and physical world should not be subject to different sentences. Increasing the penalties for online infringement will therefore make the law coherent.”

John concluded: “We have welcomed a number of initiatives in this consultation document such as the detailed review on Proceeds of Crime Act and the fact that this could potentially be extended to cover those who profit from online crime. But the fact still remains: the online criminal is still being treated differently and more leniently than the physical, and this flies in the face of Gowers.”

Story filed 24.11.08