EU updates its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List which was first published last year which ‘names websites and physical marketplaces outside the EU that are reported to engage in, facilitate or benefit from counterfeiting and piracy.’ The Watch List aims to encourage the operators of these marketplaces to prevent intellectual property infringements and inform citizens on the environmental, product safety and other risks of purchasing from these potentially problematic markets.
The Watch List has four focus areas: websites providing copyright-protected content, e-commerce platforms, online pharmacies and physical marketplaces. The list reports on the input received during a public consultation (from 19th February to 1st June), where the EU Commission invited all stakeholders to share their views.
According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the OECD, trade in counterfeit and pirated products amounts annually to around €460 billion worldwide. The European Union is particularly affected, with counterfeit and pirated products amounting up to around 6,8% of all imports or as much as €121 billion a year.
The Commission updates the Watch List regularly and uses it to report on cooperation with EU trading partners and cooperation with enforcement agencies particularly in China, Southeast Asia and Latin America. The commission also produces a report on the protection of and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in third countries in its separate biennial Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in countries outside the EU, the latest of which was published on 20 December 2019.
The second annual Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List can be downloaded here.
