{"id":329,"date":"2026-06-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/eu-counterfeit-piracy-watch-list\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:00:00","slug":"eu-counterfeit-piracy-watch-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/blog\/eu-counterfeit-piracy-watch-list\/","title":{"rendered":"EU counterfeit and piracy watch list: how to report non-EU marketplaces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission opened the public consultation for its next EU counterfeit and piracy watch list on 11 June 2026. Until 21 September 2026, any stakeholder can report online services and physical marketplaces outside the EU that engage in, facilitate or benefit from substantial infringements of intellectual property rights, and the new list is planned for the second quarter of 2027. It matters to European and Latin American brand owners whose products are copied and sold through platforms and markets in third countries.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Contributions are filed through the Commission&#8217;s EU Survey questionnaire until <strong>21 September 2026, 23:59 CEST<\/strong>; replies to other contributions can be sent by email until 28 October 2026.<\/li>\n<li>The list covers online service providers and physical marketplaces located outside the EU.<\/li>\n<li>The list is not a legal finding. Its value is the pressure it puts on operators and on the governments of the countries where they sit.<\/li>\n<li>What gets a platform listed is evidence: specific, dated and verifiable, not a general complaint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the EU counterfeit and piracy watch list?<\/h2>\n<p>The Commission published the first watch list on 7 December 2018 as a staff working document, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.consilium.europa.eu\/doc\/document\/ST-15670-2018-INIT\/en\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SWD(2018) 492<\/a>. It grouped reported services into websites offering copyright-protected content (cyberlockers, stream-ripping, linking and torrent sites, among others), e-commerce platforms, online pharmacies and physical marketplaces. The most recent edition, <a href=\"https:\/\/policy.trade.ec.europa.eu\/news\/commission-releases-report-intellectual-property-rights-third-countries-counterfeit-piracy-watch-2025-05-22_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published on 22 May 2025<\/a> as SWD(2025)132, came out alongside the Commission&#8217;s report on IP protection in third countries.<\/p>\n<p>That report ranks priority countries. China is the top priority; India and T\u00fcrkiye come second; Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Nigeria and Thailand are third-priority countries. Four of them sit in the Europe, Latin America and Africa corridor where many of our clients trade.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission is clear about the nature of the list. In its <a href=\"https:\/\/policy.trade.ec.europa.eu\/consultations\/public-consultation-counterfeit-and-piracy-watch-list-2_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">consultation notice<\/a> it states that the list is not exhaustive and &#8220;does not purport to make findings of legal violations&#8221;. Its purpose is to encourage operators and local authorities to take corrective action.<\/p>\n<h2>Key dates of the 2026 consultation<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Stage<\/th>\n<th>Date<\/th>\n<th>How<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Consultation opens<\/td>\n<td>11 June 2026<\/td>\n<td>EU Survey questionnaire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Deadline for contributions<\/td>\n<td>21 September 2026, 23:59 CEST<\/td>\n<td>EU Survey questionnaire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Deadline for replies to other contributions<\/td>\n<td>28 October 2026<\/td>\n<td>Email to the Commission&#8217;s watch list mailbox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Planned publication of the new list<\/td>\n<td>Second quarter of 2027<\/td>\n<td>Commission staff working document<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>What should a contribution to the watch list include?<\/h2>\n<p>The Commission asks for services and marketplaces involved in &#8220;substantial&#8221; infringements. In practice, a contribution that can be checked carries more weight than one that only describes a problem. Our recommendation is to build it around these points:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Identification: the platform&#8217;s name and URLs, or the address of the physical market, the operator if known and the country where it operates.<\/li>\n<li>Your rights: the trade marks, designs or copyrights affected, with registration numbers in the relevant territories.<\/li>\n<li>Evidence: dated screenshots, test purchases, seller identities and repeat listings after removal.<\/li>\n<li>Your enforcement history: notices sent, response times, takedowns refused or reversed, and whether repeat infringers are suspended.<\/li>\n<li>Scale: volume of listings or sellers, and any link to seizures by customs or local authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Previously submitted contributions are available through a link on the consultation page. Draft on the assumption that what you send may become public, and keep commercially sensitive data out of the main text.<\/p>\n<h2>Why it matters for brands in Europe, Latin America and Africa<\/h2>\n<p>The consultation is open to all stakeholders, not only EU companies. A Spanish fashion label losing sales to a marketplace in Asia, or a Latin American brand facing copies sold through platforms that also ship to Europe, can contribute on the same terms.<\/p>\n<p>Being listed does not take a site offline. What it does is put the operator&#8217;s practices on the record of the EU institutions, which feeds the Commission&#8217;s dialogue with third-country governments. In practice, a takedown request is easier to escalate when the platform knows its practices are already under review.<\/p>\n<h2>What this means for your business<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Map where copies of your products are sold and which platforms or markets outside the EU account for most of them.<\/li>\n<li>Check that your trade marks and designs are registered in the countries where those platforms and markets operate.<\/li>\n<li>Gather 12 months of dated evidence, including your takedown statistics, before drafting.<\/li>\n<li>Coordinate with your trade association: joint contributions often carry more weight than isolated ones.<\/li>\n<li>Diarise 28 October 2026 to check replies from the platforms you report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you need the evidence gathered and the contribution prepared alongside local enforcement, our team for <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/services\/legal-ip\/\">IP enforcement, anti-counterfeiting and litigation<\/a> can coordinate both.<\/p>\n<h2>Where brand owners get the watch list wrong<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Generic complaints.<\/strong> Saying a platform &#8220;is full of fakes&#8221; without URLs, dates or takedown data is unlikely to change anything.<\/li>\n<li>Reporting markets where the brand has no rights. Without registrations in that country, neither the platform nor the local authorities have much to act on.<\/li>\n<li>Including confidential information. Contributions may be published, so pricing, supplier names and internal strategy should stay out.<\/li>\n<li>Missing the reply window. Platforms use it to contest contributions; an unanswered rebuttal weakens your case.<\/li>\n<li>Treating the list as enforcement. It supports, but does not replace, customs applications, notice-and-takedown and court action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Who can contribute to the EU counterfeit and piracy watch list consultation?<\/h3>\n<p>The Commission invites all stakeholders to take part, including rights holders, trade associations and the online service providers already listed in the 2025 edition. Contributions are submitted through an EU Survey questionnaire until 21 September 2026, and replies to other contributions can be sent by email until 28 October 2026.<\/p>\n<h3>Does being on the watch list mean a platform is acting illegally?<\/h3>\n<p>No. The Commission states that the list does not make findings of legal violations and is not exhaustive. It identifies services and marketplaces reported by stakeholders, with the aim of encouraging operators and local authorities to take corrective action. Enforcement still depends on national law where the infringement happens.<\/p>\n<h3>When will the next watch list be published?<\/h3>\n<p>According to the consultation notice, the Commission plans to publish the next list in the second quarter of 2027. Previous editions were published in December 2018 and May 2025, among others, so the information you submit in 2026 is likely to shape the reference document used for the following two years.<\/p>\n<h3>Can IP Global Guard prepare our contribution to the consultation?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. We review the evidence you hold, identify gaps, draft the contribution and keep confidential data out of it. We also check that your rights are registered where the reported platforms and markets operate, and coordinate local enforcement through qualified correspondents across Europe, Latin America and Africa from a single point of contact.<\/p>\n<h2>How IP Global Guard can help you act on counterfeit marketplaces<\/h2>\n<p>A watch list contribution works best as part of a wider plan: registered rights in the right countries, dated evidence, customs measures and local action where the copies are sold. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates that plan with one strategy and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/coverage\/\">coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Send us the platforms or markets where you find copies and the marks affected. We will tell you whether a contribution is worth filing before 21 September and what else should run alongside it. <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/contact\/\">Contact our enforcement team<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its date of publication.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/policy.trade.ec.europa.eu\/consultations\/public-consultation-counterfeit-and-piracy-watch-list-2_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Commission, DG Trade, Public consultation on the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List (opened 11 June 2026)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/policy.trade.ec.europa.eu\/news\/commission-releases-report-intellectual-property-rights-third-countries-counterfeit-piracy-watch-2025-05-22_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Commission, Report on IPR in third countries and Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List (22 May 2025)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/data.consilium.europa.eu\/doc\/document\/ST-15670-2018-INIT\/en\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Commission, Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List, SWD(2018) 492 final (7 December 2018)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Commission&#8217;s consultation for its next counterfeit and piracy watch list is open until 21 September 2026. What brand owners should file and why evidence matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[90,88,54],"class_list":["post-329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-ip","tag-counterfeiting","tag-customs","tag-piracy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}