2016 has seen surge in piracy following deaths of David Bowie and Prince, says body.
TRAP – the collective of merchandise, poster and calendar manufacturers and distributors tackling piracy – has seized £2.6 million worth of counterfeit goods and equipment in 2015/16.
Figures published in the latest IP Crime Report for 2015/16 show that TRAP operatives have taken part in 144 raids and enforcements.
32 convictions have been secured, with sentences ranging from large fines to imprisonment.
Online, 474,648 notices of infringement have been issued. Between 20,000 and 30,000 listings per month are reported globally across all marketplaces, with TRAP monitoring auction sites seven days a week.
TRAP also said that, in 2016 alone, 132,529 complaints have been made, following the deaths of David Bowie, Prince and Lemmy as bootleggers look to capitalise with memorial shirts.
Over 832 seller accounts have had selling privileges removed in 2016, with over 6,239 in total since 2014 (when the current TRAP campaign commenced).
The largest online piracy hotspot, according to TRAP, is South East Asia, accounting for 60%. Eastern Europe accounts for 25% and Europe 10%, with the Rest of the World making up the remaining 5%.
Bulgaria, China, Thailand and Ukraine have been named as counterfeit hot spots.
Meanwhile, 59% of online marketplace takedowns have come from Amazon, 26% from eBay, 8% from Etsy and 4% from Redbubble.
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