Companies should be vigilant about on-premises sales of fakes, says IPO

The newly-published guide is designed to help organisations avoid liability for IP-related offences. It outlines what kinds of IP-related offences can occur in the workplace.

"Staff infringing IP rights at work can impact productivity, put your systems at risk from malware and put you and your business at risk of legal liability for their actions," said the guidance.

Staff can do this by making  rights-infringing material available on the organisation's internal computer systems or by using those systems to make them available outside the organisation. It can also happen by staff's sale of goods within the office.

Organisations should also be careful about who they allow to sell goods on their premises.

"Letting traders onto your premises to sell items to your staff could leave your business facing legal liability," said the guide.

"Intellectual property rights are essential to the success and growth of any business," said intellectual property minister Baroness Wicox. "However, many companies can leave themselves open to prosecution if they or their staff infringe the IP rights belonging to other companies or individuals."

"It is good to see the Government getting involved, even if it is only to point out that the sort of Arthur Daley-esque activity of selling fake goods through your employer is illegal," said Catrin Turner, an intellectual property law specialist at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "With London 2012 coming up, we need to get the message across here and internationally to everyone coming to the event that fakes are theft."