An important activity of the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights consists of monitoring, collecting, and analysing European case law on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Case law shows how right holders are enforcing their intellectual property in the EU. This information is crucial for practitioners, judges and law-makers. As a result, the Observatory is collecting key decisions related to the enforcement of IP rights.
The EUIPO and its Observatory carry out a range of activities to provide information on legislation and case-law on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Through collecting key decisions on enforcement, and placing them in one single searchable repository, the Observatory provides a valuable source of information for the EU-wide legal community. The Observatory also monitors developments in European case law on the infringement and enforcement of IP rights.
Key enforcement case-law
The EUIPO’s eSearch Case Law database includes key national case-law in the area of IP enforcement as well as important preliminary rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU that relate to the infringement or enforcement of intellectual property rights.
These judgments relate to the application of enforcement-related measures or procedures in IP rights infringement cases, and are considered to be key when they provide a new trend or development in jurisprudence.
National court judgments:
The case law collected at national level includes all types of IP rights, covering both civil and criminal proceedings. By searching eSearch Case Law, users can read the full text of the judgments in their original language as well as a summary in English (and, in some cases, a summary in the original language as well). Judgments can be accessed using the advanced search function of the ’National Court Judgments’ tab by selecting ‘Only Key Enforcement decisions’.
For information about the different judicial systems in the EU’s Member States, please consult the e-justice website
The enforcement case law project
The case law was gathered within the framework of a project on the collection and analysis of national enforcement case law. This project, which is implemented in cooperation with national IP offices, is based on Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 386/2012 (European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights), which sets out that ‘[…] Member States shall, at the request of the Office or on their own initiative: […] (c) inform the Office of important case-law’.
Starting with a pilot covering eight participating national IP offices in 2014, the project has grown as more Member States have joined. In addition, the Community Plant Variety Office has made a contribution relating to Community Plant Variety Rights. The cases collected go back to the year 2006 and the information is updated every year.
For more information on the enforcement case-law collection project, please contact us at: observatory.nationalcaselaw@euipo.europa.eu.
For any questions related to eSearch Case Law, please contact us at: information@euipo.europa.eu.
Key enforcement preliminary rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU
eSearch Case Law also contains important preliminary rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU that relate to the infringement or enforcement of intellectual property rights. These judgments can be accessed through the tab ‘Preliminary rulings’.
Enforcement legislation
International treaties
- TRIPS Agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) on the website of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property on the website of WIPO
- The EUIPO webpage provides links to other key international agreements affecting the European Union trade mark and the Community design.
EU legal framework
- Enforcement Directive: more information is provided by the European Commission
- Customs Regulation: more information is provided by the European Commission
- E-commerce Directive: more information is provided by the European Commission
- Information Society Directive
- Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive : more information is provided by the European Commission
More information about EU law and policy relating to copyright and related rights on the website of the European Commission
More information about EU law and policy relating to intellectual property (patents, trade marks and designs, geographical indications, trade secrets) on the website of the European Commission
For an overview of EU instruments on intellectual property you may also consult the database compiled by WIPO