European Observatory for Violations of Intellectual Property Rights

On 14 February, the European Parliament approved the draft Regulation of the European Commission which integrates the European Counterfeiting and Piracy Observatory into the Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (OHIM) and changes the name of the Observatory to European Observatory on Violations of Intellectual Property Rights.

This transfer, which received a large majority of votes in favour in the plenary session of the Parliament, has to be ratified by the vote of the Council of the European Union in line with the ordinary legislative procedure for formal approval and subsequent signature by the Presidents of the Parliament and the Council. After these formalities, it will enter into force twenty days after it has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The main function of the Observatory will be to collect, analyse and disseminate relevant, objective, reliable data on the value of Industrial and Intellectual Property rights and on violation of them, proposing measures to help reduce infringements. The Observatory will thus become a platform between the public and private sectors for the knowledge and protection of Industrial and Intellectual Property rights.

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