Seizures and discoveries last week include two substantial operations in Spain relating to counterfeit clothes and pirated DVDs, yielding 230,000 and 155,000 items respectively… A large counterfeit beer operation has been discovered in China; over 20,000 bottles of fake Budweiser and Carlsberg beers were seized… Pirated CDs and DVDs were seized in a number of countries including Australia, Azerbaijan and the US.

Cases and outcomes last week include a Chinese man being sentenced to life in prison for selling fake cigarettes… Also in China, 10 people have been arrested for being involved in a counterfeit drug ring which sold fake human albumin that could be dangerous if dispensed to patients… The four major record labels have taken Eircom, Ireland’s largest ISP, to court for allowing illegal downloading to continue on it's networks… A British man has been jailed for 32 months for making and selling pirated games and DVDs.

Policy developments last week include Cambodia’s pharmaceutical industry agreeing to form a Pharmacy Accreditation Committee to verify the quality and validity of medicines in the country… In Japan four internet provider organisations have reportedly agreed to cut off the internet connection to users who repeatedly download copyrighted files…. Similarly, in the US the music industry has been discussing whether a surcharge should be made on ISPs to make up for the money lost to piracy over their networks.