On 1 March 2022, a new Service-Level Agreement between OLAF and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) became effective. The agreement aims at increasing cooperation when it comes to crimes against intellectual property. It foresees, inter alia, the development of an IT tool, which will make it easier to share and analyse data related to counterfeiting cases at EU level. Furthermore, the agreement includes provisions on joint trainings and the support of operations organised by OLAF and involving the authorities of the EU Member States.

OLAF Director-General Ville Itälä and EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau stressed that tackling IP crimes is one of the EU’s priorities in fighting organised crime. The agreement will serve to make this fight more effective and to prevent gangs and criminals from benefiting from counterfeiting.