Notices placed on suspected infringing websites

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Notices placed on suspected infringing websites

Visitors to websites that are being investigated for copyright infringement in the UK are being presented with police notices instead of adverts

pipcu-ad.jpg

The pop-up notices are being placed by the City of London Police IP Crime Unit (PIPCU). They inform viewers that the website is under investigation, and advise that they leave it.

The initiative is part of Operation Creative and uses technology provided by Project Sunblock.

The notices will be included on sites that have been reported by rights holders and evaluated by PIPCU officers.

In the first instance, the site operator is contacted and invited to operate legally. If it does not, further action may follow.

The UK initiative mirrors that undertaken by the National IP Rights Coordination Center against IP-infringing sites in the US.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Erise IP has added a seven-practitioner trademark team from Hovey Williams, signalling its intention to help clients at all stages of development
News of prison sentences for ex-Samsung executives for trade secrets violation and an opposition filed by Taylor Swift were also among the top talking points
A multijurisdictional claim filed by InterDigital and a new spin-off firm in Germany were also among the top talking points
Duarte Lima, MD of Spruson & Ferguson’s Asia practice, says practitioners must adapt to process changes within IP systems, as well as be mindful of the implications of tech on their practices
Practitioners say the UK Supreme Court’s decision could boost the attractiveness of the UK for AI companies
New awards, including US ‘Firm of the Year’ and Latin America ‘Firm to Watch’, are among more than 90 prizes that will recognise firms and practitioners
DWF helped client Dairy UK secure a major victory at the UK Supreme Court
Hepworth Browne led Emotional Perception AI to victory at the UK Supreme Court, which rejected a previous appellate decision that said an AI network was not patentable
James Hill, general counsel at Norwich City FC, reveals how he balances fan engagement with brand enforcement, and when he calls on IP firms for advice
In the second of a two-part article, Gabrielle Faure-André and Stéphanie Garçon at Santarelli unpick EPO, UPC and French case law to assess the importance of clinical development timelines in inventive step analyses
Gift this article