Following spectacular growth over the past decade, which accelerated during the COVID‑19 pandemic, e‑commerce is now becoming a key platform for consumers in developed countries to buy counterfeit goods.

Today, at the spectacular EVOLUON in the Dutch capital of design, Eindhoven, the eyes of Europe were focused squarely on design. Our eight finalists, chosen from hundreds of submissions, showed us all what great design is all about – Style, functionality and innovation.

The EUIPO’s Customer Panel on Smart IP services met on 15 October to exchange views on how the EUIPO can better meet its customers’ needs with advanced IP online solutions.

On 21 October, the ‘Africa IP SME Helpdesk’ will be launched in Rome, under the auspices of the EU-African SME Summit 2021. From this date, EU businesses will be able to find detailed and practical information on African intellectual property matters at the Helpdesk’s online hub, and address specific questions to the Helpdesk.

The SME Fund, the EUIPO’s initiative that grants financial aid for intellectual property (IP) matters, will be also open throughout October.

On 29 and 30 September, the Observatory annual plenary meeting gathered approximately 180 stakeholders both in Alicante and online. It was a welcome opportunity to discuss challenges and achievements of the year. The Observatory plenary was the first EUIPO presential event hosted in 18 months.

The aim of Alicante News is to provide up-to-date information on EUIPO-related matters, as well as on other general IP issues, to the users of the EU trade mark and design registration systems.

The EUIPO Observatory will hold the kick-off meeting for the 2021 Awareness Grants on the 4 October 2021, which will be in an online format for the first time.

On 20, 29 and 30 September 2021, the EUIPO welcomes users to their third audit on the quality of EUIPO design invalidity decisions (out of the nineteen SQAP audits have taken place so far).

Climate change and other environmental issues concern many citizens in the EU – and beyond. These issues are becoming increasingly important in politics, in business and in public debate. In 2019, the European Commission established that action on climate change was now a priority, promising to deliver a European Green Deal with the aim of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.