The Commission’s second Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List names websites and physical marketplaces outside the EU that are reported to engage in, facilitate or benefit from counterfeiting and piracy.

The Watch List has four focus areas:

• websites providing copyright-protected content;
• e-commerce platforms;
• online pharmacies; and
• physical marketplaces.

The list reports on the input received during a public consultation (from 19 February to 1 June 2020). More than 70 responses were received from brand owners, copyright holders, associations and federations representing rights holders and associations against IP infringements. E-commerce, social media platforms, providers of internet infrastructure services or associations of providers of technology products and services also contributed.

According to EUIPO and the OECD, trade in counterfeit and pirated products amounts annually to around €460 billion worldwide. The EU is particularly affected, with counterfeit and pirated products amounting up to around 6.8% of all imports or as much as €121 billion a year. To read the Commission’s press release in full and for a link to the List, click here.