Staff from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK- IPO) will team up with South Wales police under a new initiative aimed at cracking down on Intellectual Property (IP) crime, a press release by the Office stated.

Under the partnership, Detective Constable in the Welsh Regional Intelligence Unit, Graham Mogg, joins UK-IPO on August 1, 2007 to help gather and share intelligence on potential IP crime and its perpetrators.

In addition to detecting and preventing crime and the prosecution of offenders, it is planned that the initiative will reduce the opportunity for those who want to commit IP crime.

“With the UK-IPO and police working together and the effective promotion of this initiative, I am certain we can reduce the current level of IP crime,” Chief Executive of the UK-IPO Ian Fletcher said.

“By working in partnership and focusing on those committing crime we send a clear message to criminals. Do not commit crime, or the law will be there to deal with you,” Assistant Chief Constable of South Wales Police Giles York noted.

Trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy are serious IP crimes that defraud consumers, damages the economy and cost the UK millions of pounds in lost business.

This new initiative is just one of many being undertaken in this area. The UK-IPO will shortly publish this year’s Enforcement Report which sets out a range of activities undertaken by police, trading standards, other government agencies and industry to tackle the threat posed by IP Crime.