To strengthen the enforcement of IP rights at EU level, Eurojust and the EUIPO signed a Service Level Agreement in March 2021 that will help to boost cooperation in this area and ensure a more coherent and robust response against IP infringements. The Agreement is in force for a four-year period (2021-2024) and provides Eurojust with extra funding to support the development and implementation of its IPC project.

This novel project aims to enhance judicial action against counterfeiting and piracy – by supporting Member States with complex cross-border IPC investigations – and to contribute to the work of the EUIPO in the area of IP infringements. To this end, the project focuses on building, promoting and exchanging knowledge, tools and expertise, as well as on awareness-raising and the provision of enhanced operational support to IPC-specific coordination meetings and JITs.

In 2022, Eurojust will expand its work in this area by developing and disseminating IPC-specific knowledge, supporting EUIPO’s research efforts, trainings and awareness-raising sessions, and drafting best practice reports. As a participant in the new EMPACT sub-Priority 'Intellectual property (IP) crime, Counterfeiting of goods and currencies', Eurojust is eager to work alongside the Member States’ judicial and law enforcement authorities, as well as partners such as Europol and EUIPO, to make important strides in the fight against IP infringements in the European Union.