The European Commission (EC) has developed a programme with the name “EU toolbox against counterfeiting”, which aims at strengthening the cooperation between IPR holders and enforcement authorities.
Accordingly, over the next three years the EC, together with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), plan to launch several strategic initiatives to combat counterfeiting.
To carry out this task, the organisations involved have developed a group of recommendations, tools and actions to enable companies to better protect and apply their intangible assets, among which we would point out the following:
- Adapting new procedures to combat new counterfeiting practices;
- Reassessing and possibly increasing the maximum penalties applicable to serious criminal offences in the IP field;
- Reinforcing the role of the authorities, which carry out inspections, so that they can continue to detect and consequently combat counterfeiting;
- Pursue practices which foster swifter, more economical and environmentally friendly storage and destruction of counterfeit goods;
- As regards the tools recommended by the EC for SMEs, we would point out the IP Scan Enforcement Voucher, made available by the EUIPO SME Fund from 2 April 2024, the main purpose of which is to advise SMEs in cases where IPRs are infringed, subject to accusations of infringement by third parties, or run a high risk of being infringed.
See more about these recommendations.
