The European Commission has signed a five-year agreement with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights under the Digital Services Act (DSA), as Brussels steps up its fight against counterfeit goods and online piracy on the bloc's largest digital platforms.
The agreement, which took effect upon signing, will bolster the Commission's ability 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 spread of counterfeit goods and pirated content.
Under the five-year arrangement, the EUIPO will provide technical support and expertise in IP-related matters to Commission experts overseeing VLOPs and VLOSEs — platforms that reach more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU. A central element of the office's role will be to help analyse internal reports submitted by these platforms, assessing how effectively they are tackling IP infringements.
The EUIPO will also organise specialised training for national authorities responsible for enforcing the DSA and will support the European Board for Digital Services — an advisory body under the Act — by contributing to its working group discussions on intellectual property.
Beyond the major platforms, the agreement extends to building knowledge and expertise among judicial authorities, IP rights holders and smaller online intermediaries and to developing a shared body of best practices and tools to help platforms prevent the misuse of their services and ensure the reliability of traders' information.
The deal reflects a broader push by Brussels to give the DSA's cooperation framework — which links the Commission with EU agencies, national regulators and international partners — sharper teeth on IP enforcement. As of December 2025, 22 VLOPs and 2 VLOSEs had been formally designated under the DSA, with WhatsApp added to the list in January 2026.
Adopted in 2022, the DSA aims to create a safer, more transparent and accountable online environment for users, businesses and rights holders across the EU, requiring platforms to implement notice-and-action mechanisms so that rights holders can report illegal content such as counterfeit products.
