IP Enforcement: Asserting Your Rights

Intellectual property (IP) can be protected by formal IP rights such as trademarks or patents. Usually, these titles grant their owner the right to exclude others from using or commercialising, for example, an invention protected by a patent.

This process of not allowing others to use or commercialise protected IP is known as enforcement of rights. This fact sheet illustrates the importance of IP enforcement for businesses and research organisations while providing an overview of the main enforcement actions, together with the latest developments and initiatives of the European Commission in the field.