EU Monitoring

EPTDA Monitors EU Legislative Developments

Latest News

Vademecum For Combating Counterfeiting

Brussels, Jun. 28, 2011 - EPTDA releases its Vademecum For Combating Counterfeiting

Recent figures published by the European Commission itself on national customs activities reflect that the number of registered cases of goods suspected of infringing Intellectual Property Rights rose by more than 60 percent in five years (2005-2009). EU estimates an effective “battle” against counterfeit could reduce EU Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by EUR 8 billion annually!

The vademecum introduces the reader to the existing European legal framework for anti-counterfeiting, the next steps coming up (especially following the Blue Print of the EU Commission for Intellectual Property Rights to boost creativity and innovation) and the simple steps owners of Intellectual Property rights in the EU should and may take in order to defend their rights effectively against counterfeiting and piracy.

The full report is available to EPTDA and PTDA Members in the Members Area (click here).

Intellectual Property Rights & The Way To Enforce Them

Brussels, 4 May 2011 - EPTDA released its EU Monitoring Report on Intellectual Property Rights and the way to enforce them by combating counterfeiting and piracy.

Within the EU there are already a number of legal instruments in place to attack counterfeiting, such as the Enforcement Directive, issued at the end of 2010. Soon it became apparent that this Directive was not designed to overcome challenges posed by the Internet to the enforcement of intellectual property rights in mind. Therefore a public hearing will take place in Brussels on June 7th.

Click here to download the full report (Members Only)

Distribution & Online Sales

Brussels, 20 Feb. 2011 - EPTDA releases latest news on EU's legislation on Distribution & Online Sales.

"In April 2010 the European Commission adopted a new Regulation that "block exempts" distribution and supply agreements at different levels of the production and distribution chain (known as vertical agreements). But what's the purpose of such a Regulation? And how does it affect the relationship between distribution and online sales"?

CLICK HERE to download the full report (members only).

Metric Directive Modified to allow both US and EU units

In 2008, EPTDA informed its members that the Metric Directive forbidding the use of supplemental (US/UK) units for goods sold in EU was due for implementation in 2010.

The EU Metric Directive (80/181/EEC), scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2010, has been modified to allow the continuation of both supplemental (U.S. customary, inch-pound) and metric units for consumer goods sold in the EU. The EU Metric Directive, last updated in 1999, was set to allow the use of only metric units, and prohibit the use of any other measurements for most products sold in the EU. The Metric Directive would have made the sole use of metric units obligatory in all aspects of life in the European Union, extending to areas such as product literature and advertising.

Metric Directive 2010: click here to download the full document

Previous EPTDA Monitoring reports on Metric Directive: click here to access the members only section and download these reports

Why EU matters to your company?

In an ever changing global business environment it is crucial to look and think outside the box. To succeed in today's business environment, a company must deal with the possible business barriers before they arise and hamper competitiveness.

European Union is the source of 70-80 % of the legislation that governs our everyday life and business practices. No sector can afford to ignore European policies, as it can cost them substantial resources when the European legislation is adopted or altered against the interests of their sector.

EPTDA's member companies are vulnerable to change in many policy areas such as: environment, energy, trade and consumer protection that can affect the competitiveness and profitability of the sector.

EPTDA - monitoring for its members

EPTDA provides its members with up-to-date news and reports on the developments in key EU policy areas for the PT/MC industry.

The ABCs of EPTDA's EU monitoring ( Click here )

Under the loop:

• Transport
• EU Metric Directive
• EU Distribution Law and the Single Market
• Combatting Counterfeits
• Mechanical Equipment
• Energy saving and environment
• And many others

For more information about these reports, please contact EPTDA
EPTDA members can access these reports in the members only section of this website (please click here)

Other reports:

• EPTDA's EU representation plan Click here
• Report Attorney on EU Regulations Click here
• EU Commission: New Regulations of Vertical Agreements Click here