City of London Police’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is a specialist police team dedicated to protecting physical goods from intellectual property crime and combatting online piracy.

The operationally independent unit was established in 2013 with funding from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and is part of the National Lead Force Operations within the City of London Police, which leads fraud investigations on behalf of the police nationally.

PIPCU's mission is to investigate, disrupt and prevent intellectual property crime that causes significant harm to the UK economy and the general public.

Since its inception, the unit has investigated intellectual property crime worth more than £100 million concerning counterfeit goods or digital piracy, and suspended more than 30,000 websites selling counterfeit goods. These websites have also been linked to identity theft.

PIPCU is based at the City of London Police’s headquarters at Guildhall Yard East. The unit comprises of a team of 19 police officers and staff, including detectives and police staff investigators.

www.cityoflondon.police.uk