Amazon joins EUIPO enforcement portal

Amazon has signed up to join the EUIPO’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Portal (IPEP), a centralised platform for the exchange of information related to intellectual property (IP) rights.

It is the first major online marketplace to join the project, according to the EUIPO, and joins a “growing alliance” of players dedicated to the fight against counterfeit goods

IPEP allows secure communication and exchange of details with a wide variety of IP stakeholders; such as rights holders, customs officials, law enforcement, and market surveillance authorities, and acts as a collaborative space in the fight against counterfeiting.

It is already in use by more than 1,400 brand owners and 81 enforcement agencies across the EU, according to the EUIPO, which said the involvement of Amazon and hopefully other e-commerce marketplaces in future will strengthen the platform.

“Amazon is excited to be signing up to the [IPEP], both as a rights holder ourselves and as a marketplace service provider committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of others,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s head of worldwide selling partner services.

“We believe there should be more information sharing between private and public sectors in the IP space,” he added.

The EUIPO said that the decision to open up the IPEP to online retailers has resulted from the growth of e-commerce and the need to enhance cooperation to tackle online sales of counterfeits.

It has already developed a first set of tools that can be used to support cooperation between e-commerce marketplaces and rights holders, and will now layer in additional functionalities to support information-sharing with law enforcement authorities across the EU.

“While IPEP will not replace the existing notice and takedown channels of the e-commerce marketplaces, it will benefit all online marketplaces that want to protect their users against counterfeits by strengthening the exchange of information with right owners and law enforcement authorities,” said the organisation.