Updated Feature For The EU IPO's Customs IP Enforcement Portal Announced

Many consumers take advantage of the benefits that online shopping has to offer, this being a quick and convenient way to access thousands of brands from across the globe, including through e-commerce marketplaces, such as Amazon or Etsy. In fact, a 2022 Eurostat study found that 68% of surveyed people in the European Union had purchased goods or services online within a 12-month period preceding the survey.

However, whilst the benefits of online shopping are clear to consumers, and brand owner's alike, e-commerce platforms also provide counterfeiters' ample opportunity to infringe on brand owners intellectual property rights ("IPRs") by advertising counterfeit goods for sale on these platforms. Whilst many e-commerce marketplaces will have their own IPR protection initiative or programme in place, the administration of joining these initiatives can get complicated for brand owners to navigate.