Better late than never?

Pirates beware: an obscure recently made government order (the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Commencement No. 14) Order 2007, C.27) will effectively finally give "local weights and measures authorities" (in the form of Trading Standards officers) the powers and duties under sections 107A and 198A of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 they have been promised ever since the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 inserted these provisions 13 years ago. The government has apparently also promised Trading Standards some money to help them get on with it.

At the moment, only the police have the power to enforce offences under the CDPA. Trading Standards will, as from 6 April 2007, also have powers to enforce copyright offences, including the power to make test purchases and to enter premises to inspect and seize goods or documents. Obstructing them will be an offence.

Expect to see squads of suitably armed TS officers swarming around car boot sales and markets in search of bootleg videos as from next month.

Guidance on the new powers is available from the Patent Office here.