The European Commission has published the third Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List, which names websites and physical marketplaces outside the EU that are reported to engage in, facilitate or benefit from counterfeiting and piracy.

The Watch List was published on 1 December. It can be downloaded in full here.

The Commission states:

The Watch List aims to encourage these services and marketplaces, as well as local enforcement authorities and governments, to take action to stop or prevent intellectual property infringements. It also aims to raise awareness among EU citizens of the environmental, product safety and other risks of purchasing from these potentially problematic markets.

The Watch List focuses on websites providing copyright-protected content, e-commerce platforms, online pharmacies and physical marketplaces. It makes a distinction between websites that are allegedly infringing, and those which do not engage in infringing activities themselves but are reportedly failing to take appropriate measures to fight against piracy and counterfeiting.

The Watch List is compiled based on input received during a public consultation from 15 December 2021 to 14 February 2022. Contributions were received from stakeholders as well as Europol and EUIPO.

The Commission will use the Watch List in its cooperation with trading partners in the framework of IP rights dialogues and working groups and in ongoing technical cooperation programmes in China, Southeast Asia and Latin America. It will also monitor measures and actions taken in relation to the listed marketplaces and service providers.