Combating crimes against intellectual property: Comparative analysis of international best practices

Abstract

The relevance of the subject is conditioned by the fact that economic and scientific advance leads to an increase in the level of crime against property rights, specifically its most relevant form – intellectual property. An important task of law enforcement agencies is to overcome threats to intellectual property using the world’s best practices in this area. The purpose of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of the world experience of combating crimes against property. Using such methods as the method of legal hermeneutics, formal legal method, comparative legal method and problem analysis, the study outlined the problems associated with the prosecution of intellectual property crimes. The study classified countries according to the type of intellectual property protection regulation and outlines the key issues in the investigation of intellectual property cases. It was found that countries with a long history of criminal law counteraction to crimes against intellectual property, whose experience can be considered advanced, are divided into two groups. The first group includes those countries where legal protection of intellectual property is provided exclusively through the national criminal code. The second group of countries includes those where the relevant provisions are consolidated in special laws, which often prescribe sanctions for intellectual property infringement. As society develops and the use of intellectual property intensifies, the need to create a unified system of legal protection of these rights becomes apparent. The distribution of legal provisions among different legislative acts complicates their application in practice. Based on the conducted study, recommendations were offered for improving the mechanism of combating crime in the field of intellectual property. The study analysed the results of a survey conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2023, which aimed to collect information on the prosecution of intellectual property crimes in the member states. The practical significance of this study lies in the fact that the proposed recommendations can be used to improve national mechanisms for combating intellectual property crime