(Publ. 25 OCT 2016) News from our Alicante office:

EUIPO, the European Intellectual Property Office, is expanding its competences and will now be in charge of all of the intellectual property rights within the European Union, with the exception of patents. The Office has its residence in Alicante, Spain. The new strategic plan reflects the new role of the Office after the reform which entered into force this year in March and extends to year 2020.

For example, the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights is now hosted by EUIPO, the Office is cooperating with EU member states and the European Commission on the continuous Harmonization of IP Law in the member states. It also plays an important role promoting the protection of IP rights throughout the world collaborating with non-EU countries such as USA, China and Russia as well as being responsible for managing the EU orphan works database.

The new strategic plan can be read and downloaded on the EUIPO website here