European Commission steps up protection of European #IntellectualProperty in global markets

The European Commission has published the latest report on protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in third countries. While developments have taken place since the publication of the previous report, concerns persist and a number of areas for improvement and action remain to be addressed. Intellectual property rights infringements worldwide cost European firms billions of euros in lost revenue and put thousands of jobs at risk. Today's report identifies three groups of countries on which the EU will focus its action.

Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan (pictured) said: “Protecting intellectual property such as trademarks, patents, or geographical indications is critical for the EU's economic growth and our ability to encourage innovation and stay competitive globally. As much as 82% of all EU exports is generated by sectors which depend on intellectual property. Infringements of intellectual property, including forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, counterfeiting and piracy threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs in the EU every year.

The information gathered in the report will enable us to become even more efficient in protecting EU firms and workers against intellectual property infringements like counterfeiting or copyright piracy.” Industries that use intellectual property intensively accounted for some 84 million European jobs and 45% of the total EU GDP in the period 2014-2016. Efficient, well-designed and balanced Intellectual Property (IP) systems are key in promoting investments, innovation, growth and the global business activities of our companies.

For more information see the report and a press release available online.

Share this article: