On 22 March, Petra and Diana represented MARQUES at the Private Stakeholders Meeting of the EU Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights in Alicante, the second time they have attended this annual event.
Three topics discussed during the day require support from brand owners: (1) the EDB Forum on 13-14 June 2018, (2) IPR TechWatch, and (3) Blockathon. Find out more about these topics on this blog post on Class 46. The post also includes links to more information. Note that participation in the EDB Forum is free for rights holders that have an EDB account and their representatives, and registration will open on 9 April.
Working groups
The ACPT Team is active in representing MARQUES in various ways at the Observatory, and is involved in three working groups, as well as the private stakeholders group: Kristina Edén Johnsen (Legal and International), Sonia Santos (Enforcement) and Petra herself (IP in the Digital World).
“There is a lot of work going on in the working groups,” says Petra. “By attending these meetings, we can hear about the work taking place, report back to MARQUES members and then take feedback to the next meeting.”
One topic under discussion at the moment is an annual report on notorious online and offline marketplaces (NMR) and there are discussions about whether, and in what way, this should take place. “MARQUES may help canvassing views from rights holders on this topic” says Petra.
Observatory reports
The Observatory may be best known to many members for its frequent reports on counterfeiting topics and sector analyses. The latest of these, published on 15 March, looked at trade in counterfeit goods and free trade zones. Read a summary of the report on the Class 46 blog.
This month an evaluation by Technopolis on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 386/2012 on entrusting the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (former OHIM) with tasks related to the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs), including assembling public- and private-sector representatives as a European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights was published.
The evaluation found there was “a broad consensus on the activities of the Observatory and its general usefulness in the fight against counterfeiting and copyright infringements and IPR enforcement in general”. Read the full report here.
“We are impressed with the number and content of the studies carried out by the Observatory so far,” says Petra, adding: “I think the challenge now is putting these words into action.”
“Of course the ACPT Team will take the lead on this, but we would also like to reach out to other MARQUES Teams that may have information on developments, cases or decisions. We are happy to be the intermediary to provide input from members of various Teams.”
Find out more about the work of the ACPT Team, and contact Petra, on the Team’s dedicated page on the MARQUES website. See all the Observatory publications, including the sector reports, on its dedicated page.
Issue 087
The UK is joining the Hague System. Plus: get an access code for e-filing
The deadline for registration for the EUIPO Case Law Conference has been extended to 13 April. Plus: details of planned 
