SUMMARY:

• This week, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published a study analysing how online advertising services are misused to promote IP-infringing websites and apps and to mislead consumers;
• The study is commissioned by the EUIPO to White Bullet to assess the impact of the European Commission’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on online advertising and IPR;
• The findings confirm that online ads play a key role in driving traffic to IP-infringing platforms and in generating significant revenues for illegal activities, often without the knowledge of advertisers;
• EUIPO also highlights that the growing complexity and opacity of the digital advertising ecosystem facilitate the exploitation of legitimate ad services by infringing operators.

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MORE INFORMATION:

According to the study:

• Online advertising represents a major source of income for IP-infringing websites and apps, contributing both to their economic sustainability and to their visibility and perceived legitimacy;
• Both branded and non-branded advertising appear on infringing platforms, exposing consumers to misleading commercial content and increasing the risk of purchasing illegal, unsafe or fraudulent goods;
• In 2024 alone, monitored IP-infringing websites generated over 14 billion ad impressions in the EU, with estimated revenues of EUR 139 million in the monitored Member States and EUR 242 million worldwide;
• Infringing operators actively exploit weaknesses in ad placement mechanisms, including automated ad systems, limited transparency and fragmented oversight across the advertising supply chain;
• The misuse of online ads not only supports IP infringement but also undermines consumer trust, fair competition and the integrity of the digital single market;
• The study highlights good practices identified under the MoU, notably the use of Infringing Website Lists (IWLs) and cooperation frameworks such as PIPCU and WIPO ALERT, which, when actively implemented and regularly updated, can reduce the presence of reputable advertising on infringing platforms;
• Stronger and more systematic cooperation between advertisers, ad intermediaries, rights holders and public authorities, combined with enhanced transparency and accountability in adtech systems, is identified as essential to reinforce the “follow-the-money” approach.

For more information, see the full study here.EUIPO