Details
- Status
- Open
- Opening date
- Deadline
- Department
- Directorate-General for Trade
- Trade topics
- Intellectual property
Target audience
All stakeholders
Why we are consulting
The European Commission aims to identify online service providers and physical marketplaces located outside the European Union that are reported to engage in, facilitate or benefit from substantial IPR infringements, and in particular piracy and counterfeiting.
The European Commission services request written contributions from stakeholders identifying online services and physical marketplaces that may fulfil the criteria to be included in the ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List’. Online service providers are encouraged to report on the measures they have taken to avoid or reduce IPR infringements by third parties on their services. Online service providers and physical marketplace operators appearing in the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List of 2022 are also invited to submit written contributions in which they present the actions they have taken to address IP infringements on their services or while providing their services.
The new edition of the ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List’ is scheduled to be published in the second quarter of 2025. It will identify and describe the reportedly most problematic online services and marketplaces in order to encourage their operators and owners, as well as the responsible local authorities and governments, to take the necessary actions and measures to reduce the availability of IPR-infringing goods or services.
The ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List’ is not an exhaustive list of the reported services and marketplaces and does not purport to make findings of legal violations. Neither does it provide the European Commission services’ analysis of the state of protection and enforcement of IPR in the country or countries concerned.
Background
Infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR), and in particular commercial-scale counterfeiting and piracy, cause significant economic losses for rightholders and legitimate businesses as well as to those whose employment depends on such businesses. These infringements undermine the European Union's comparative advantages in innovation and creativity to the detriment of EU citizens and pose significant risks to consumer health and safety as well as to the environment. Besides, IPR infringements, and in particular counterfeiting and piracy, also seriously harm European business trading outside the European Union.