Does IP infringement alwaysgive rise to criminal liability?
Infringing on intellectual property rights may result in civil or administrative consequences, in addition to criminal liability. Criminal procedures are typically only utilized for cases of commercial-scale trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy and carry severe penalties that should be used judiciously. Patent infringement is often not subject to criminal prosecution due to the importance of technological progress and the possibility of unintentional infringement. Plant variety rights and exclusive rights to layout designs of integrated circuits are not mandated to be protected through criminal procedures, but infringing on these rights may constitute other criminal offences that do not involve IP protection penalties.
Comments