European Commission releases biennial report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries

Intellectual property | Brussels, Wednesday 8 July

The European Commission published today its biennial report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries.

Despite positive developments and comprehensive legal reforms, enforcement initiatives and the creation of specialised IP Courts, two thirds of goods detained in 2013 at EU borders due to suspected IPR-infringement originated in mainland China. China therefore retains its status as a priority country. The EU has, however, over the years developed close cooperation with China on IP matters and recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to reinforce this cooperation.

India also remains a big concern for the Commission, in particular its lack of suitable protection for pharmaceutical products. Today’s report also highlights a general worsening of IPR protection and enforcement in Argentina, Russia and Ecuador compared to the last report in 2013. Accordingly, the Commission has moved these countries up its priority list.

Compared to the situation in 2013, the Report identifies notable improvements in Israel and the Philippines. Israel has improved its protection of pharmaceutical products, while the Philippines have taken significant steps to improve the IPR environment, particularly in legislation and enforcement.

Today’s report provides valuable information for EU rights’ holders on the effectiveness of IPR regimes in countries outside the EU. It will also enable right holders – in particular small and medium-sized firms – to improve their business strategies and operations to protect their corporate value in intangibles based on intellectual property they own. In particular, they will be able to better manage risk around their IPR when doing business in or with certain third countries.

The Report is part of the European Commission's Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Third Countries . It is largely based on an EU survey on the protection and enforcement of IPR throughout the world. The survey is carried out by the EU’s Alicante-based Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). The report helps the Commission to update its list of ‘priority countries’ on which to focus its activities and efforts for improving protection and enforcement of IPR.

This report will also benefit third country authorities' understanding of the perception of EU users of their IPR systems, particularly in regard to potential areas for improvement.  

The report More information on enforcement of intellectual property rights