{"id":741,"date":"2026-10-28T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/?p=741"},"modified":"2026-10-04T11:59:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T11:59:48","slug":"eu-watch-list-consultation-replies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/blog\/eu-watch-list-consultation-replies\/","title":{"rendered":"Last call: replying to the EU Watch List contributions (28 October)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>28 October 2026 is the deadline for replies in the EU Watch List consultation: the second phase in which any stakeholder can comment on the contributions sent to the European Commission for the next Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List, including the responses of the marketplaces and online service providers named in them. For brand owners and rights holders who reported a platform or market, it is the last opportunity to correct or rebut what the other side has said before the Commission selects the entries for the edition planned for the second quarter of 2027. Replies go by email, and the contributions are available to read online.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The first phase closed on 21 September 2026; the reply phase runs until <strong>28 October 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Replies, comments, observations and additional information go by email to the address on the Commission&#8217;s consultation page.<\/li>\n<li>Contributions are available in the Commission&#8217;s CIRCABC library, so you can read what platforms and other stakeholders have submitted.<\/li>\n<li>The Watch List covers online service providers and physical marketplaces located outside the EU, and it does not make findings of legal violations.<\/li>\n<li>The new edition is planned for the second quarter of 2027; a well-evidenced reply now is what keeps your case in front of the Commission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the EU Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List?<\/h2>\n<p>The Watch List is a Commission staff working document that identifies online service providers and physical marketplaces outside the EU reported by stakeholders as engaging in counterfeiting and piracy. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/policy.trade.ec.europa.eu\/consultations\/public-consultation-counterfeit-and-piracy-watch-list-2_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Commission&#8217;s consultation page<\/a> (DG Trade), its aim is to encourage operators and owners, as well as local authorities and governments, to take action. The Commission stresses that the list &#8220;is not an exhaustive list&#8221; and &#8220;does not purport to make findings of legal violations&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The first edition, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.consilium.europa.eu\/doc\/document\/ST-15670-2018-INIT\/en\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SWD(2018) 492 of 7 December 2018<\/a>, explained the method: the results of a public consultation form the basis of the list, combined with information from the EUIPO, Europol, customs and national sources. Online marketplaces count as located outside the EU if their operator or owner is known or assumed to be resident outside the EU. The <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\">2025 edition was published on 22 May 2025<\/a>, alongside the Commission&#8217;s report on IP protection and enforcement in third countries.<\/p>\n<h2>How does the reply phase of the Watch List consultation work?<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Phase<\/th>\n<th>Dates<\/th>\n<th>What happens<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Contributions<\/td>\n<td>11 June to 21 September 2026 (23:59 CEST)<\/td>\n<td>Stakeholders answer the EU Survey questionnaire; providers listed in 2025 are also invited to submit written contributions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Replies<\/td>\n<td>Until 28 October 2026<\/td>\n<td>Any stakeholder can reply to the contributions and share comments, observations and additional information by email<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Selection and drafting<\/td>\n<td>After the reply phase<\/td>\n<td>The Commission assesses the material and selects the entries<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Publication<\/td>\n<td>Planned for Q2 2027<\/td>\n<td>New edition of the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The consultation page links to the contributions in the Commission&#8217;s CIRCABC document library. Two practical consequences follow. You do not need to have contributed in the first phase to send a reply, because the reply phase is open to all stakeholders. And whatever you send may sit alongside other contributions, so it is prudent to write it as a document that the platform you criticise may eventually read.<\/p>\n<h2>Why replying to the EU Watch List consultation matters now<\/h2>\n<p>Platforms and market operators named in earlier lists have an incentive to describe their notice and takedown tools, seller verification and cooperation programmes in the best possible light. If those statements go unchallenged, the Commission has only one side of the story. A reply lets rights holders show, with dated evidence, whether those tools actually work for them: how long takedowns take, whether removed sellers reappear and whether the platform responds to requests for seller information.<\/p>\n<p>For companies in our corridor, the list also covers physical markets outside the EU. European brands exporting to Latin America and Africa, and Latin American brands copied in third-country markets, can use the reply phase to update the Commission on the situation on the ground.<\/p>\n<h2>What a strong reply should contain<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Identification: who you are, which rights you hold and in which markets (registration numbers help).<\/li>\n<li>The contribution you are replying to, identified precisely, and the statements you dispute.<\/li>\n<li>Evidence: dated test purchases, screenshots with URLs, notice logs with response times, examples of repeat infringers and any court or customs decisions.<\/li>\n<li>Context: whether the platform or market targets EU consumers, and the volume or scale you have observed.<\/li>\n<li>A short summary the Commission can use: what has changed since the last list and what has not.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This list is our recommendation, not a Commission requirement. The Commission&#8217;s page asks for replies, comments, observations and additional information; it does not set a format.<\/p>\n<h2>What this means for your business<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>If you contributed by 21 September, read the replies and contributions in CIRCABC that concern the platforms or markets you reported, and answer any factual claims you can disprove.<\/li>\n<li>If you did not contribute, you can still send observations and evidence by 28 October.<\/li>\n<li>Whatever the outcome, keep enforcing: the Watch List is a policy tool. Takedowns, customs applications for action and court actions remain your direct remedies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our team for <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/services\/legal-ip\/\">IP enforcement and anti-counterfeiting legal services<\/a> can review the contributions, assemble the evidence and draft the reply, and connect it with your <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/services\/trademarks\/\">trade mark portfolio in the markets concerned<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Where rights holders get this wrong<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Missing the window. The Commission&#8217;s page announces no further phase after 28 October before the list is published.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sending opinions instead of evidence.<\/strong> General complaints about a platform carry little weight against its detailed description of compliance tools.<\/li>\n<li>Including confidential material without thinking about who will see it. Draft as if the platform could read it.<\/li>\n<li>Treating the list as an enforcement action. Being listed does not remove a single infringing offer; it adds political pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>What is the deadline for replies in the EU Watch List consultation?<\/h3>\n<p>The Commission&#8217;s consultation page sets 28 October 2026 as the deadline for stakeholders to reply to the contributions submitted during the consultation and to share comments, observations and additional information. The first phase, for initial contributions through the EU Survey questionnaire, closed on 21 September 2026 at 23:59 CEST.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I reply if I did not contribute in the first phase?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. The reply phase is addressed to stakeholders generally, not only to those who submitted a contribution, so a rights holder can send observations and evidence even if it did not answer the questionnaire. Replies are sent by email to the address given on the Commission&#8217;s consultation page.<\/p>\n<h3>Does being on the Watch List have legal consequences for a platform?<\/h3>\n<p>Not directly. The Commission states that the list does not purport to make findings of legal violations. It is a policy instrument meant to encourage operators and local authorities to act. Legal consequences come from separate procedures, such as court actions, customs enforcement or, for platforms offering services in the EU, the Digital Services Act.<\/p>\n<h3>Can IP Global Guard prepare our reply to the Watch List consultation?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. We review the relevant contributions, organise the evidence from your enforcement records and draft a concise, documented reply, and we connect it with your wider enforcement strategy in Europe, Latin America and Africa, coordinating qualified local counsel in third countries where needed, from a single point of contact.<\/p>\n<h2>How IP Global Guard can help you use the Watch List<\/h2>\n<p>The Watch List rewards rights holders who keep good records. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, runs marketplace monitoring, takedowns, customs applications and litigation coordination with one strategy and one billing relationship across 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 you reported, or would like to report, and the evidence you already hold. We will tell you quickly whether a reply is worth sending before 28 October and what it should include. <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/contact\/\">Share your Watch List evidence with our team<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.<\/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 (DG Trade), Commission releases 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 reply phase of the EU Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List consultation closes on 28 October 2026. How rights holders can rebut platform contributions with evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":915,"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-741","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\/741","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=741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}