The European Union has given the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) the task of raising awareness about ways to stamp out infringements of intellectual property rights. OHIM’s responsibilities now include the European Observatory on Intellectual Property Rights, formerly known as the Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy. Like its name, the Observatory’s scope has changed since its inception three years ago.
Under the new regulation, set to take effect in May, OHIM will provide training for enforcement personnel, share information about best practices, improve the online abilities of the various trademark offices in the EU, and raise public awareness. But, perhaps in response to widespread opposition among OHIM users, the EU chose not to give the agency’s new unit a proactive policing role.
Peter Vickery, Esq., 