Seizures and discoveries last week include a number in the US yielding fake luxury goods, clothing and pirated DVDs and CDs… In the UK a large seizure of fake Manchester United FC merchandise has taken place… Belgian authorities have seized and destroyed over 3000 bottles of fake champagne… A huge amount of pirated CDs, computer accessories and games consoles have been seized in Chile… Over 200,000 fake anti-impotence pills have been seized by French customs.

Cases and outcomes include Swedish prosecutors saying they expect to charge the operators of the bit torrent site “The Pirate Bay” with conspiracy to breach copyrights… A man in the US has been forced to pay $20,000 in damages after being caught selling fake iPods… Another US citizen has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for conspiracy to smuggle and traffic counterfeit goods… A Czech national has been ordered to pay damages after posting an illegal copy of The Simpsons Movie online.

Policy developments last week include an amendment to Swiss patent protection which means from 1 July this year customs can seize all counterfeit goods, even if they are only intended for personal use… Copying music from CDs to other formats could be made legal in new proposals by the UK government, but would only allow "ripping" for personal use.

Studies and reports out last week include one by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society which found that more than 2 million people in Britain regularly buy prescription drugs online, despite the risk posed by fakes.