1. International cooperation

1. Apart from the above-noted internal cooperation mechanisms (e.g. the ECN), the European Union is also a leading player in inter-jurisdictional cooperation on competition law in important fora including: the International Competition Network (ICN); the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Policy; and the OECD Competition Committee. The EU considered that these multilateral fora provide important platforms to advocate principles of sound competition enforcement and to develop a competition culture globally. This will enable competition authorities worldwide to respond more efficiently to cases involving multiple jurisdiction.

2. The EU includes competition policy in a number of bilateral agreements. Since 2008, the EU has signed bilateral trade agreement with Colombia and Peru, idem with the Andean countries, and an EPA with Caribbean that contain a chapter on competition. Regarding the EPA with Central Africa, only Cameroon signed it and a full EPA is still under negotiation; negotiations on a competition chapter started in 2008; however, there have not been any discussions on this topic since then.

6. Intellectual property rights

1. Since its previous Trade Policy Review in 2009, the EU has continued to develop its IPR protection in response to the changing economic and technical environment, particularly in the areas of copyright, patent, trademarks, geographical indications (GIs), and enforcement. During the period under review, major reforms on patents were under way, and the EU lowered the registration cost for Community trademarks, strengthened IPR enforcement by setting up an EU Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy, and initiated a review of its Customs Regulations on IPR enforcement. Creative industries in the EU contribute 3.3% of its GDP (2006) and 3% of total employment (2008). In 2008, 6.7 million people worked in the creative industries in the EU-27, and creative goods accounted for 4.3% of extra-EU exports.²⁵²

2. The adoption of the Lisbon Treaty marked an important step forward for the further development of a truly EU-wide IPR regime. It inserts an IP-specific provision. Article 118 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) stipulates that measures shall be established "for the creation of European intellectual property rights to provide uniform protection of intellectual property rights throughout the Union and for the setting up of centralised Union-wide authorisation, coordination and supervision arrangements".

3. The IPR regime in the EU is governed both by EU legislation and legislation in member States. The EU has an extensive body of intellectual property legislation (Table AIII.2). Member States' legislation implements and complements, where appropriate, EU legislation and commitments under international agreements. The EU is an observer to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), while its member States are WIPO members. In December 2009, the EU ratified the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

4. The EU has a regime of regional exhaustion, under which parallel imports from third countries are not allowed, while parallel imports within the EU are permitted.