Public consultation on due diligence and supply chain integrity for intellectual property protection

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the mechanisms developed by companies to secure their supply chains and thereby protect their Intellectual Property (IP). Companies acting as IP right holders and/or as suppliers to such a right-holder are invited to complete the survey form within both the goods and service sectors.

Due to their extreme complexity, globalised supply chains have become over the years vulnerable to various forms of disruptions, one of them being the infiltration of intellectual property (IP) infringing and sub-standard products. Managing supply chains in a transparent and holistic manner would result in reducing this risk of infiltration and could thereby allow for greater integrity, quality and customer confidence in the origin of IP intensive products.

 

In this context, the integration of IP into IP intensive companies’ supply chain management and the use of certain monitoring tools and risks assessment procedures could highly benefit IP protection.

 

The European Commission (Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the Joint Research Centre) has therefore decided to launch a public consultation on the mechanisms developed by companies to secure their supply chains and thereby protect their IP. This initiative is part of the Follow the Money strategy, which was announced in the European Single Market Strategy (adopted on 28 October 2015) in view of preventing IP infringing products and services from penetrating the on- and off-line markets.

 

The results of the consultation will allow for the mapping and the promotion of best practices as well as the elaboration of EU supply chain integrity scheme(s) composed inter alia of a “due diligence toolbox” for the attention of IP intensive companies.

 

We are inviting any company acting as an IP right holder and/or as a supplier to such a right-holder to complete the survey form within both the goods and service sectors. SMEs are highly encouraged to participate in the consultation.

 

Link to the public consultation

 

The English version of the consultation is now available. Please note that the French and German versions will be published shortly. The consultation will run for a 12-week period starting on the date when the consultation texts were published in all 3 languages.

 

Source: JRC website