A new initiative led by the UK’s recently-established Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit has seen advertising on pirate sites from well-known household brands drop by 12%.

A three-month pilot in collaboration with the creative and advertising industries, designed to disrupt advertising revenues on infringing websites, has led to a reduction in advertising from major household brands.

Meanwhile, adverts that lead the user to sites with explicit adult content or expose them to malware increased by 39% during the pilot – ...