The European Commission opens a public consultation on piracy

The so-called 'Counterfeiting and Piracy Watch List' attempts to identify countries outside the European Union that are the focus of counterfeiting, piracy and other forms of intellectual property abuse.

In order to identify the countries outside the European Union that are hotbed for counterfeiting, piracy and other forms of abuse to intellectual property, European Commission This week a public consultation was opened.

Named Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List This consultation is part of the EC's announced strategy to address the challenges of intellectual property authorities.

The future watch list will contribute to increasing consumer awareness who may be purchasing products in those markets, and to encourage operators and owners to take action against abuse.

Brussels will also monitor measures taken by local authorities to reduce the availability in identified markets of goods and services that infringe intellectual property rights.

The Commission recalls in a statement that These practices harm European industry and hamper investment and employment in sectors that depend on creativity.

According to data from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the OECD, the trade in counterfeit goods is around €338 billion annually worldwide. Piracy has a incidence around 5% of imports of the European Union, which represents losses of over 85,000 million euros.