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The City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) has launched a new online directory designed to boost the ability of law enforcement to tackle IP crime.
The website will work as a database for customs and police officers worldwide to identify counterfeit goods, with information uploaded by brand owners.
Information including packaging details and other identifiers are uploaded to the site for instant access by authorities.
It will also enable those signed up to create alerts that could warn brands and law enforcement about the latest trends in crime.
“The key to tackling IP crime is business and law enforcement working together to take action against criminals,” said Glenn Maleary, head of the economic crime directorate at the City of London Police.
“The crime directory will help bring more criminals to justice, reduce the amount of dangerous fake goods in circulation and give confidence to the consumer that what they are buying is the genuine product.”
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson was among those who endorsed the new website, which was launched on Wednesday, April 26.
“It’s essential that swift action is taken against criminals that commit intellectual property crime. In the last year, we have dealt with more than 130 instances of me being impersonated, fake pages, misleading ads and false endorsements,” he said.
PIPCU added that any profits made from the directory “will be reinvested into the fight against intellectual property crime by the City of London Police”.
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