European Union: European Commission and Intellectual Property Office signed an agreement on intellectual property rights enforcement under Digital Services Act

On 1 April 2026, the European Commission signed a five-year agreement with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to support the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The agreement aims to strengthen the Commission's capabilities to take enforcement actions under the DSA to address systemic risks affecting IP rights posed by very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs), including the dissemination of IP-infringing content such as counterfeit goods and online piracy. Under the agreement, the EUIPO will provide technical support and expertise in IP-related matters to assist the Commission's experts in the oversight of VLOPs and VLOSEs, which reach more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU. The EUIPO will help analyse internal reports submitted by these platforms to assess how effectively they are tackling IP infringements, organise specialised training for national authorities responsible for enforcing the DSA, and contribute to working group discussions of the European Board for Digital Services. The EUIPO will also help build knowledge and expertise among judicial authorities, IP rights holders, and smaller online intermediaries, and develop a shared collection of best practices and tools to help online platforms prevent the misuse of their services and ensure the reliability of traders' information.