The report — covering all areas of IP crime, both in the physical realm and online — revealed infringement trends gathered from both governmental and private anti-piracy groups and it was the online domain that was causing most concern. It found that during a sample three-month period in 2015, 28% of those questioned admitted their music downloads in the UK came from illegal sources. Similarly, 23% of films and 16% of TV content was downloaded in breach of copyright.

TV struck an alarming note: “The reasons for the spike in TV copyright infringement appear to be, in part, technological, with ‘unofficial services’ such as uTorrent, BitTorrent, catch-up TV apps and established sources such as YouTube offering content without legal certainty,” the reported noted.

In the report the UK Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Neville-Rolfe describes collaboration between the Federation Against Copyright Theft, Trading Standards and the Police to combat IPTV-based theft as one of the year’s operational successes.

Indeed, FACT said it had prioritised an emerging threat from IPTV/Kodi set-top boxes. Overall, FACT estimates that 70% of the public complaints it receives relate to online copyright infringement. More than a quarter of all complaints now relate to IPTV and half of the anti-piracy group’s current investigations involve IPTV boxes.

“In their original form, these boxes are legitimate. However, with the use of apps and add-ons, they allow users to access copyright infringing material, from live TV and sports to premium paid-for channels and newly released films. Once configured these boxes are illegal,” the trade body added.

The full report can be downloaded here.