Research on business models infringing intellectual property : Phase 6: Applications related to serious and organised intellectual property crime : executive summary

The research study series on business models infringing intellectual property (IP) has, since 2016, been one of the initiatives of the Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights ('the Observatory') entrusted to the EUIPO. This 6th edition in the series focuses on the criminal threats to IP related to applications ('apps'). The subject of apps has been selected for analysis because of their rapid expansion and wide acceptance by society, consumers, and internet users; technical developments; and the relevance of apps to the legal exploitation of IP, as well as overall app misuse by IP criminals. This report is the first deliverable of the research study and is a result of the empirical and qualitative analysis conducted by the research team. It is based on: a literary review of existing studies and reports on the topic; an examination and analysis of relevant jurisprudence; two hands-on workshops conducted in early 2023 with members of the Observatory Impact of Technology expert group as well as public- and private-sector representatives; semi-structured interviews with leading IP experts with experience in infringements of IP related to apps; independent research on commercialisation, sharing and the use of apps that have an impact on the IP crime landscape.