Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the cost to UK companies of intellectual property and patent (a) theft and (b) fraud from December 2019 to December 2022.

The Government takes the issue of IP crime and infringement seriously and is working with industry and law enforcement agencies on initiatives to tackle this issue. The UK Intellectual Property Office supports the Police IP Crime Unit, and last year they successfully completed operations at retail outlets and online, seizing dangerous counterfeit goods.

The Intellectual Property Office is working closely with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to estimate the cost of counterfeiting to the UK economy. This OECD report estimated that fake goods imported to the UK were worth GBP 13.6 billion in 2016. This report is currently being updated and is due to be published in 2024.