European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights

The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights is a network of experts and stakeholders set up by the European Commission and entrusted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office by Regulation (EU) No 386/2012. It is neither a court nor a prosecuting authority. Its mission is to improve knowledge of counterfeiting and piracy, to provide objective data on their scale, to foster cooperation between the authorities of the Member States and to support rightholders, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, in defending their assets.

Knowledge and research missions

The Observatory publishes economic studies on the contribution of IP-intensive industries to the Union’s economy and on the losses caused by infringement in various sectors, often in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This work serves as a reference for the EU institutions in framing public policy and may be relied on by rightholders to document the scale of a phenomenon, although it does not constitute evidence of loss in a particular dispute.

Cooperation and enforcement tools

The Observatory operates digital tools that connect rightholders with enforcement authorities. The IP Enforcement Portal allows rightholders to register their rights, describe their genuine products and share this information with the customs and police services of the Member States, which makes suspect goods easier to identify and complements the application for customs action based on Regulation (EU) No 608/2013. It also runs exchange networks between offices, customs authorities, prosecutors and specialised judges, and it contributes to the training of officers responsible for combating counterfeiting.

Practical relevance for a French rightholder

For a French company, the Observatory is first a source of reliable economic data, useful for raising awareness among management, supporting a protection strategy or informing institutional communication. It is then a point of access to the authorities of the Union and of the Member States, in particular through the registration of rights on the IP Enforcement Portal, which increases the chances of customs detention of infringing goods at the Union’s borders. Finally, it offers small and medium-sized enterprises information tools and support services, which add to the resources of the EUIPO and INPI.

Key points

The European Observatory, attached to the EUIPO, produces data on counterfeiting, coordinates enforcement authorities and provides rightholders with tools for cooperating with customs and the police. It issues no decisions and prosecutes no one. Rightholders have every interest in registering their rights and the features of their products on the IP Enforcement Portal, combining that registration with an application for customs action and drawing on its studies to document the scale of the infringements they suffer.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

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