The Observatory produces a quarterly newsletter with information on its latest activities and enforcement tools, as well as news about its stakeholders from all around Europe.

International IP Enforcement Summit 2021

The 4th International IP Enforcement Summit was held online on 22 and 23 June. It gathered information from key actors on the ways to improve the protection and enforcement of IP rights, notably in the online environment and worldwide.

The summit highlighted strategic and practical guidance and shared good practices as well as showed how the fight against counterfeiting and piracy could contribute to a healthier society, a more sustainable environment and a stronger economy.

Exchanges focused on IP infringement online and how to facilitate cooperation with intermediaries, including the use of new technology in the fight against IP crime and the importance of collaboration and sharing of data.

Several sessions also concentrated on the misuse of online intermediary services and how this can be addressed.

The 3rd edition of a study to analyse trends in the global trade of fakes, carried out by the EUIPO in cooperation with the OECD, was also released.

If you want to read more about the summit or watch the different discussions you can do so from the summit’s web page.

IP in the Digital World and Awareness

The Out-Of-Commerce Works Portal goes live

‘Forgotten stories can once again become our shared history’
In order to help cultural heritage institutions fulfil their mission to benefit European culture, Directive (EU) 2019/790 introduces a legal framework to support cultural heritage institutions in the digitisation and cross-border dissemination of out-of-commerce works. Out-of-commerce works are works, such as books, films, or visual works that are still protected by copyright but are no longer or have never been commercially

The EUIPO’s Executive Director, Christian Archambeau reports back on an important month for Intellectual Property rights.

April 26 is world IP day. The occasion was marked by a thought-provoking event co-organised by the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland and the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

In his recorded address, Mr Archambeau highlighted the increasing importance that companies place on protecting their IP rights, but cautioned of the need to ensure SMEs are not left behind. He outlined the tools and actions the EUIPO has put in place to address this important challenge, to support SMEs in protecting their IP rights in a challenging business environment.

This month also marks the 25th anniversary of the first registration of an EU trade mark. Demand for registrations has continued to grow despite the COVID pandemic, with 25% more EU trade mark applications received compared with the same period in 2020.

Learn more about the how the EUIPO and the national IP Offices of Member States are celebrating World IP Day on this Twitter thread.