EU counterfeit seizures hit a record 196 million, Mexican marketplaces sign anti-piracy principles, and the Anthropic lyrics hearing ends without a ruling

On 22 October the EUIPO and the European Commission reported that more than 196 million counterfeit items, worth about EUR 6.3 billion, were detained in the EU in 2025, 67% more than in 2024.

EU counterfeit detentions hit a record 196 million items in 2025, and Mexican marketplaces voluntarily sign IP protection principles

On 22 October the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union published a joint report: in 2025, customs and internal-market authorities in the EU detained more than 196 million counterfeit items worth about EUR 6.3 billion, 67% more items than in 2024 and 29% above the previous record set in 2023. Recorded CDs and DVDs made up almost 30% of the items and toys nearly a fifth, followed by games, clothing and cigarettes, including e-cigarettes. By right infringed, trade marks accounted for 57%, copyright for 43% and designs for 7%; a single shipment can infringe several rights.

Large numbers of labels, tags and stickers were intercepted, which the EUIPO says suggests that some fakes receive their final finishing inside the EU. More than 70% of internal-market detentions took place in Italy; at the border, Romania accounted for 43% of the items, while Spain accounted for more than half of the value.

On 21 October Mexico's Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN) held an event at which Alibaba, Amazon Mexico, Mercado Libre, TikTok, Walmart Mexico, Sears, Coppel, Sanborns and Correos de México signed a Declaration of Principles for Digital Platforms Supporting IP Protection. It covers seller identification, detection of counterfeit goods, an accessible complaint channel for right holders and action against infringing listings where there are sufficient grounds, with safeguards against abusive complaints. The platforms signed voluntarily and the declaration is not binding; it does not change Mexico's trade mark, copyright or administrative enforcement framework.

Anthropic lyrics hearing: the judge presses on transformative use and market harm, no ruling; Singapore extends its AI and IP consultation to 5 November

On 21 October Anthropic asked the US District Court for the Northern District of California (Concord Music Group v. Anthropic, No. 5:24-cv-03811) to hold that training Claude on large numbers of song lyrics is fair use. Judge Eumi K. Lee did not rule that day. Universal Music, Concord, ABKCO and other music publishers argue that Claude generates “synthetic lyrics” that compete with the originals; the publishers also say Claude received nearly 120,000 such requests in six months. According to reports, the judge asked whether the training was transformative, whether AI-generated lyrics would harm the market for the originals, and whether the publishers had real evidence of market harm.

Singapore's Ministry of Law and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore have extended their public consultation on AI and the IP regime, launched on 26 August, from 22 October to 5 November. The copyright part asks whether AI training can rely on the computational data analysis exception in the Copyright Act, how liability for infringing outputs should be shared between developers, deployers and users, and how much human creative contribution a work made with generative AI needs in order to be protected. The patent part asks how inventorship applies to inventions made by people working with AI, and whether large volumes of AI-generated technical disclosures could count as prior art. Responses can be sent through the official form or by email; commercially sensitive information can be marked confidential, but a request to keep a whole response confidential will not be accepted.

Getty Images files a prepackaged Chapter 11, and a House bill would let photographers register up to 3,000 photos at once

On 21 October Getty Images Holdings announced that some of its US entities had filed prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (No. 26-11646). According to the announcement, entities affiliated with the Getty family and Koch Equity Development will invest up to USD 533 million in equity under a restructuring support agreement signed on 12 October; the company expects to complete the restructuring by the end of the year and become privately held. Getty says its libraries are operating as usual, and it has filed “first day” motions so that it can keep paying employees, customers and suppliers. The announcement attributes the restructuring to its capital structure and non-operating legal liabilities.

On 19 October H.R.10843, the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of 2026, was introduced in the House by Ben Cline, co-sponsored by Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Under the bill text, an individual author could register up to 3,000 photographs with one application and one fee; works could be deposited first and registered later, with the effective date of registration set at the deposit date; certified third-party repositories could accept deposits; and the deferred registration fee would be capped at half the standard fee, alongside subscription-style registration. It is still a bill, not a registration rule in force.

7-Eleven drops its stripe colour trade mark suit against Nike with prejudice

On 19 October 7-Eleven filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas (No. 3:26-cv-02201), ending its case against Nike. In its complaint of 1 July, 7-Eleven argued that the orange, green and red stripes on Nike's Air Max 95, together with a release date of 11 July, known as 7-Eleven Day, would lead consumers to believe the shoe was connected with 7-Eleven; it did not accuse Nike of using its name or logo. The dismissal was 7-Eleven's own decision, not a court ruling on infringement, and the notice does not mention a settlement.

According to the complaint, 7-Eleven has used the 7-ELEVEN mark since 1946 and the orange, green and red stripes since 1987, and holds several US registrations featuring the colours, some of them incontestable. It had sought a permanent injunction, treble damages and disgorgement of profits. Reuters could not confirm whether the parties had settled.

Australia's trade marks manual adds Part 36: the Registrar can still revoke a registration within 12 months

On 20 October IP Australia published a new Part 36 of its Trade Marks Manual of Practice and Procedure, bringing revocation of acceptance and revocation of registration together and adding amendment and cessation of protection for international registrations. Before registration the Registrar can revoke acceptance under section 38; within 12 months after registration it can revoke the registration under section 84A; and for a Madrid international registration protected in Australia, it can amend or cease protection under 17A.42A within 12 months of protection. Each power requires the Registrar to be satisfied that the mark should not have been accepted, registered or protected and that revocation is reasonable, and the person notified must be given a chance to be heard.

The manual reflects the Full Federal Court's decision in Registrar of Trade Marks v National Cancer Foundation Limited [2026] FCAFC 95: the word “satisfied” in section 84A(1) does not import a higher or different standard of proof, and the ordinary civil standard applies, weighing the stability of granted rights against the public interest in an accurate register. The Full Court nonetheless dismissed the appeal, finding that the grounds for revocation had not been made out. A revoked registration is treated as never having been made; where protection of an international registration ceases or is amended, the effect dates back to the original date of protection and customs is notified. Even when asked, the Registrar is under no obligation to consider revocation.

Saudi Arabia approves four IP laws, effective dates not announced; the Taiwan region's draft “Patent Act” amendments would protect GUIs on their own

On 20 October Saudi Arabia's cabinet approved the Patents and Utility Models Law, the Plant Varieties Law, the Industrial Designs Law and the Integrated Circuit Layout Designs Law; no effective dates were announced, nor when new filing channels will open. According to the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), the new laws will create a utility model right for smaller innovations and technical improvements, and the designs law ties in with the Riyadh Design Law Treaty, which Saudi Arabia has ratified. Companies with patent, design or plant breeding interests in Saudi Arabia should wait for SAIP's implementing rules and opening dates before planning filings. On 22 October a meeting of the Taiwan region's “Executive Yuan” approved draft amendments to the region's “Patent Act”: computer-generated images and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) could be protected as design patents in their own right; two or more similar designs could be filed in a single application; the novelty grace period for design patents would be extended from 6 to 12 months; and divisional applications could also be filed within 3 months after the notice of allowance is served. The draft still needs review by the “Legislative Yuan” and has no effect until passed; until then, product disclosures and filings should follow the current 6-month grace period.

UK IPO seeks evidence on a FRAND opinion service, closing 15 December

On 20 October the UK Intellectual Property Office launched a call for evidence on an IPO-led FRAND opinion service: it would give a voluntary, non-binding early written opinion on whether a standard essential patent licence offer falls within a “reasonable FRAND range”, without deciding essentiality, validity, infringement or damages. The government has not decided to introduce it, and is no longer consulting on a separate rate-determination track at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. Responses, with names and organisations, may be published under the Freedom of Information Act.

WIPO pilots its GIPAP assignment platform, and Sweden's PRV raises PCT search fees

The pilot of WIPO's Global IP Assignment Platform runs from the third quarter of 2026 to the third quarter of 2027, with central submission and each office deciding whether to record, covering assignments of patents, trade marks and designs. WIPO's page lists 14 offices, including the EUIPO, the Japan Patent Office, SAIP, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and the USPTO, which announced on 22 September that it is joining; CNIPA is not on the list. The pilot does not change each office's procedures or local agent requirements. On 13 October the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV) announced that, because of exchange rate changes, the international search fee, the additional fee for lack of unity and the supplementary international search fee it charges as a PCT International Searching Authority will all be SEK 21,210 from 1 December, up from SEK 19,950. Applicants using PRV as their searching authority, or for supplementary searches, whose payments fall around 1 December should recheck their budgets.

01Renew EU customs applications for action every year

Brands exporting to or selling in the EU should check when their AFA expires and renew it on time; a Union application can cover several member states. Record authenticity features and authorised channels on IPEP so front-line officers can compare goods quickly.

02On Mexican marketplaces, file well-founded and documented complaints

Map the right-holder complaint channels and evidence requirements of Amazon Mexico, Mercado Libre, TikTok and other platforms, keep trade mark certificates and ownership evidence ready, and keep a cross-platform log of monitoring and complaints.

03Keep image licences and work inventories on file

Companies using stock images should file licence certificates, invoices and scopes; photographers and image libraries with large catalogues can build an inventory now to prepare for possible bulk or deferred registration in the US.

04New Australian marks: keep the address for service current for 12 months

For marks newly registered in Australia or designated through Madrid, keep the address for service current for 12 months after registration or protection and answer any notice of intended revocation quickly; before launching a collaboration or limited colourway, assess colours, release date and marketing copy for trade mark risk.