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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Press release1 March 2019Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Industry-led initiative to fight counterfeiting gets new boost

Industry-led initiative to fight counterfeiting gets new boost

Facilitated by the European Commission, the MoU helps build cooperation between the signatories:

  • rights holders of products for which counterfeit versions are often sold online
  • internet platforms
  • business associations

and contributes to the prevention of counterfeit goods being sold online.

Counterfeit products damage businesses, have a negative impact on jobs and tax revenues, and often endanger the health of consumers.

The MoU was first signed in 2011 and revised in 2016. In November 2017, as part of the package of measures on intellectual property, the Commission released an overview report on the functioning of the MoU. The report showed that the MoU brought positive results and improved cooperation between rights holders and internet platforms. The meetings of the signatories stimulate participants to overcome existing challenges and identify best practices, e.g. on content identification and tracking technologies.

More information

Background: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sale of counterfeit goods via the internet

Text of the MoU on the sale of counterfeit goods via the internet (PDF, 753 kB)

Full list of signatories of the MoU (PDF, 181 kB)

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