Stakeholders came together to pledge their support for stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) during the European Commission’s IPR Enforcement Conference this week.
TIE, along with other EU trade associations, internet platforms and brand owners, signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of building an online shopping experience for consumers that is safe and secure from fraud.
This latest version updated the previous MoU, signed in 2011, and includes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to objectively measure success in the fight to eliminate the sale of counterfeit goods online. The MoU calls for signatories to take full advantage of notice and take-down procedures (NTD), whereby internet platforms do their utmost to quickly and efficiently remove counterfeit goods from the online market once brand owners alert internet platforms that there are sellers of counterfeit products infringing on their brands.
The sale of counterfeit toys over the internet poses a serious risk for children’s safety, as these products often do not comply with the EU’s high level of toy safety standards. Furthermore, toys are the 6th most counterfeited product in the EU, and online sales pose an increasing challenge for EU enforcement of IPRs.
The Commission plans to present four more MoUs to support its efforts in combatting IP infringement through the “Follow the Money Approach” of depriving online rogue traders of their revenue flows. The MoUs fall under the EU’s Agenda on better regulation for better results using self and co-regulation. TIE will continue to collaborate with AIM, the European Brands Association, as well as the other MoU signatories to establish a code of practice in the fight against the sale of counterfeit goods online, setting an example for non-signatories.
