The post was created in late 2005 to monitor counterfeiting, coordinate public bodies and promote public-private partnerships.

Silvio Berlusconi's government decided at a recent cabinet meeting to abolish the office in two months’ time. The decision will save €1.5 million annually.

Giovanni Kessler, who has been the high commissioner since September 2006, said the office had “worked quite well”, particularly in helping different enforcement agencies to get to know each other.

It also encouraged private sector involvement in enforcement, something that ironically is promoted in the same bill that abolishes the office of high commissioner.

“I die by giving birth to something very important,” said Kessler, who was speaking at Bocconi University in Milan, as part of a conference on Growing Business with IP, co-organized with the European Patent Academy. The conference focused on winning strategies in emerging markets.

Practitioners who spoke to Managing IP said the move was disappointing from the point of view of IP enforcement, particularly as it coincided with a decision to downgrade the status of the Patent and Trade Mark Office.

It comes as bodies, such as the European parliament and the French government, have proposed having a European high commissioner for IP. “The high commissioner could be an interesting model for abroad and for Europe,” said Kessler.

He added that people in similar positions in different countries could help harmonize the work of law enforcement bodies overseas, but was sceptical about discussions on an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): “ACTA is a future issue and a difficult one. It is something for our children.”

Kessler, a former politician, said that the lesson from Italy’s experience is: “Don’t rely on political will.” He described fighting counterfeiting as a “cultural battle”.