Intellectual property rights and geographical indications

EU trade policy and intellectual property

The EU supports strong intellectual property rights (IPR) standards that affect businesses and consumers in the EU and abroad. The EU seeks a solid and predictable IPR legal framework for international trade, including:

• IP rights that encourage innovation, guarantee the origin of products and ensure their authenticity, accompanied by prohibitive measures against any infringement of these rights.
• IP rights that protect consumers from counterfeit products that do not meet EU health and safety standards.

To prevent IPR infringement, the EU adopted a revised Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Third Countries, which focuses on:

• responding to recent changes in the international IP environment, including the digitalisation of all section of the economy and newly identified loopholes in IP legislation and enforcement.
• providing the European Commission with the necessary tools to respond more effectively to current challenges.

As a member of The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the EU is a signatory of international IPR agreements such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). The TRIPS Agreement sets the minimum standards of IPR protection to be provided by each country and procedures for the settlement of IPR related disputes.

The IPRs in the TRIPS agreement include

• copyright and related rights;
• trademarks including service marks;
• geographical indications including appellations of origin;
• industrial design;
• patents including the protection of new varieties of plants;
• layout-designs of integrated circuits;
• undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data.

Intellectual property rights in EU trade agreements

The EU negotiates IPR chapters in its trade agreements with other countries and regions. The aim is to ensure that both trade partners hold the same intellectual property protection standards.

• EU trade agreements go beyond the WTO TRIPs Agreements and address specific IPR concerns with these countries.
• you can find out more about IPR rules in EU trade agreements here.

EU IPR policy towards developing countries

The EU promotes the improvement and enforcement of IPR standards in developing countries. While better IPR protection is important for EU businesses, it also attracts technology transfer, foreign investment, research and innovation to the benefit of developing countries.

The EU provides a range of instruments and technical assistance programmes to help developing countries strengthen IPR.

The EU is also committed to protecting EU creations, inventions and designs.

To help you develop policies and procedures to protect the value of your ideas and creations, the EU Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights provides information for companies, particularly small businesses, on the potential risks to their IP when engaging in business activities in or with certain countries abroad.

Technology transfer

The EU and its member states are committed to promoting technology transfer, in particularly to the least-developed countries (LDCs).

• The EU believes that policies aimed at developing a strong IPR regime can help developing countries benefit from increased access to foreign technology.
• Foreign companies are more likely to licence knowledge and collaborate on joint projects when there is an effective IPR system in place.

Find useful information for businesses on technology transfer and IP matters.

EU policy towards access to medicines

The EU is committed to facilitating access to medicines in developing countries and aims to strike the right balance between protecting the IPR of pharmaceutical companies, which are at the forefront of research into new medicines, and the need to ensure that these medicines are available to people around the world. The EU therefore tailors its approach on pharmaceutical-related IPR to the needs and level of development of its trading partners.

The EU addresses various issues relating to the affordability, availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality and use of medicines in low- and middle-income countries by supporting:

• global health organisations and initiatives;
• public health systems in low- and middle-income countries;
• research and development (R&D) of medicines needed by low- and middle-income countries;
• trade rules that facilitate access to medicines.

Find more information on EU global health actions for low- and middle-income countries.