The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) is currently consulting on plans to increase the maximum fine for online copyright infringement to 50,000 pounds, up from £5,000.

The increase is designed to be used against for-profit online infringers, who knowingly exploit copyrighted works for monetary gains. Once implemented, the new measure would allow UK Magistrate courts to punish online copyright infractions with the same penalties that are currently being levied against physical copyright violators.


The penalty increase has been recommended to the UK-IPO by multiple sources, including the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (2006) and the Creative Britain report (2008).

These fine lifts may certainly deter for-profit copyright infringement activity in the UK, but I worry that the higher maximums might be applied to citizens who are found guilty of file sharing or other activities that are questionably classified as copyright infringement. Watch out UK citizens, as your copyright laws and penalties continue to grow.