The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) issued a call for expression of interest, inviting marketplace service providers (MSPs) to work with the EUIPO on educating and raising awareness of IP —lending their expertise to businesses throughout the EU. Amazon is pleased to announce that we are joining the EUIPO in this effort.
Through this collaboration, Amazon, the EUIPO, and other participants will jointly offer training on IP topics, share IP-related information and materials, and participate in events designed to explain the benefits of IP and how to leverage it.
Working with the EUIPO to provide more education to entrepreneurs on how to protect their IP will help them grow their businesses, regardless of whether they sell in Amazon’s store.
The EUIPO has launched several initiatives to support EU entrepreneurs, including the EU Commission’s SME Fund grant scheme, implemented by the EUIPO together with EU national and regional IP offices. The SME Fund partly reimburses EU SMEs who choose to register their national and EU trade marks and designs (75% reimbursement), or who choose to do an IP scan to get a tailor-made IP strategy (90% reimbursement).
The EUIPO services are available on a dedicated website created to support EU businesses in all things IP.
When it comes to educating Amazon sellers on how to navigate IP rights, we provide relevant resources and a suite of powerful tools to support them. Amazon’s Intellectual Property Policy provides clear and practical information to Amazon sellers about IP rights and common concerns that might arise, including how to protect those rights. If businesses do not yet have their IP rights secured, they can expedite their access to Amazon’s brand protection tools, like Brand Registry, by filing a trademark application through Amazon’s Intellectual Property Accelerator program, which is comprised of a network of IP experts.
Our collaboration with the EUIPO marks another chapter in Amazon’s history of working with the agency. In 2023, Amazon joined the EUIPO Intellectual Property Enforcement Portal (IPEP) as both a business and a rights owner. IPEP is a centralized platform for the exchange of information related to IP rights and includes customs officials, police authorities, rights holders, and now MSPs, who are dedicated to identifying and stopping counterfeits from reaching consumers. The portal is already used by a growing number of brand owners and law enforcement agencies across the EU.
Working together to increase awareness of IP and the risks of counterfeit goods within the EU region
In the EUIPO study, “European Citizens and Intellectual Property: Perception, Awareness, and Behavior,” younger consumers were found to be considerably more likely to have intentionally purchased counterfeit products in the past 12 months. Of those who participated, 50% aged between 15 and 24, agreed that buying counterfeit products was acceptable if the price of the original was too high. 41% of respondents found the purchase of counterfeit luxury items acceptable.
These trends represent the need for industry leaders to expand consumer education efforts. To do this, Amazon focuses our efforts on collaborations that help spread awareness and expand the networks of IP leaders willing to speak on these topics.
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2023, Amazon and the Department of Public Security in Italy presented the joint report, “Online Counterfeiting: Analysis of the phenomenon, modus operandi and law enforcement activities.” The goal of the report is to help increase collaboration, develop tools and trainings, and expand the network of those engaged in the fight against counterfeiting and IP across the public and private sectors. The Italian association for the protection of IP, INDICAM, also participated in the publication.
In 2024, Amazon, INDICAM, and H-FARM College, hosted the “Challenge the Fake,” event in Italy, an initiative focused on educating young consumers on the importance of keeping consumers safe from counterfeits and protecting intellectual property rights. More than 600 students joined the challenge, creating a campaign aimed at raising awareness while being mentored by Amazon, INDICAM, and SHADO, the marketing communication agency for H-FARM. Finalists then presented their work at an event celebrating the initiative, speaking through their unique approach to educating others on the importance of buying authentic products.
Similarly in Germany, Amazon partnered with the German Brands Association (Markenverband), German Anti-Counterfeiting Association (APM), the German E-Commerce Association (bevh) and the German Digital Association (Bitkom) to launch a social media campaign, “#EchtFake,” to increase awareness among young consumer about the consequences of buying counterfeit products, including the environment and product safety.
Campaigns and initiatives like these will remain an important part of our approach to the global, cross-sector challenges counterfeit presents.
Creating a future where businesses feel empowered with the information they need to protect their IP while simultaneously educating consumers on the risks counterfeit goods pose is key to maintaining a trustworthy shopping experience in the long-term. At Amazon, we are thrilled to continue working alongside the EUIPO in support of these efforts.
“We see this call for expression of interest as an exciting next step in getting businesses in the EU the information they need to be successful,” said Anna Dalla Val, director of Brand Protection Strategic Partnerships at Amazon. “Information-sharing collaborations like this one are key to making that happen, and we can’t wait to see the impact this will have.”
For more on Amazon’s IP protection efforts, visit our Protecting Intellectual Property page.
Curious what else we’re up to? Here’s how Amazon is collaborating across industry to hold bad actors accountable.
“Keeping consumers safe from counterfeit is a global challenge that requires an innovative, multi-faceted approach,” said Anna Dalla Val, on a panel at the Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB) European Intellectual Property Forum. “From proactive controls that consider linguistic differences and local compliance requirements by EU storefront location to global, cross-sector partnerships, and seller and consumer education initiatives, we are committed to driving counterfeits to zero.”
In 2023, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) filed its first joint civil lawsuit with a brand against counterfeiters in Europe. In collaboration with Brother, we announced legal action against eighteen suspected members of a Germany-based counterfeit ring who attempted to deceive customers by selling fake toner cartridges marketed as genuine products. Shortly after, we worked with London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and Philips, to identify and disrupt counterfeiting rings in the UK attempting to manufacture and sell counterfeit electric-toothbrush heads. PIPCU, supported by CCU, raided multiple businesses and residences in London, where they seized thousands of counterfeit toothbrush heads and arrested an individual suspected of contributing to the scheme.
Former Detective Sergeant Andrew Masterson from the London PIPCU underscored the importance of companies and law enforcement working together to tackle the issue of counterfeiting in the article, “Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit’s collaboration with brands and law enforcement result in global raids.”
“Effective collaboration between private companies and the public sector is key to tackling IP crime and dismantling the organized criminal enterprises that can be found behind it,” said Masterson. “No single organization or police agency could hope to be effective in combatting an issue of this scale on its own.”
In another first-of-its-kind lawsuit, the European Union Trademark Court of Alicante ruled against four bad actors based in Spain for attempted sale of counterfeit BMW parts and accessories across Europe. Amazon and BMW Group won the joint civil lawsuit. The judgement by the court rules that the bad actors broke the law, violated Amazon’s policies, and infringed on BMW Group’s registered trademarks by trying to sell counterfeit products including valve caps, badges, and key rings.