In light of the upcoming publication of the European Commission’s Digital Services Act (DSA),
Círculo Fortuny joins forces with European industry to protect brand owners
and create a secure online environment
Madrid, September 2020 – In its contribution to the European Commission’s public consultation on the DSA, filed by the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance (the ECCIA) — which comprises more than 600 luxury and high-end brands and cultural institutions from 12 European countries —, Circulo Fortuny is calling on the European Commission to create an obligation for online intermediaries to adopt proactive measures that detect and prevent the reappearance of counterfeits on the Internet.
With this proposal, luxury and high-end industries want to curb the proliferation of online counterfeiting, which represents 6.8 % of all imports into the EU (121 billion euros a year), according to recent OECD figures. Furthermore, online counterfeiting represents an increasing danger to health and safety, as consumers become increasingly vulnerable to online scams.
According to data from Bain & Company, it is estimated that in just 5 years 30% of purchases of luxury and high-end items will be made online. High-end and luxury industries are shifting towards a ‘phygital’ environment, in which the consumer will move from the physical to the digital environment in a matter of seconds. It is therefore imperative to build a sustainable digital environment, where consumers and brands can safely engage.
The upcoming revision of the e-commerce Directive, one of the cornerstones of the future DSA, is an opportunity to create a legal framework based on the principle of “what is illegal offline is illegal online”. The aim should be to ensure that illegal products do not reach these websites, while simultaneously tackling the large number of existing offers.
Other ideas put forward by ECCIA in the DSA consultation include:
According to Círculo Fortuny, “the proliferation of online counterfeiting is one of the unwanted consequences of the development of the Internet. The existing legal framework does not allow brand owners to effectively protect their rights online, neither does it incentivise other actors – such as online marketplaces, social networks, search engines or advertising services – to step up their efforts to address the worrying growth and impact of online counterfeiting. The upcoming Digital Services Act represents a unique opportunity to create a safer and more sustainable digital environment based on authentic goods and legitimate interactions”.
