During 11-13 May and 8-12 June, eleven Virtual Communities (VC) met virtually for the second round of VCs in 2026. The occasion once again provided the opportunity for the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to facilitate the coming together of EUIPN community members to share their expertise and continue working on key cooperation topics.

One of the key highlights of this round was the launch of a new Virtual Community dedicated to IT security, reflecting the importance of proactively addressing emerging cyber threads through shared intelligence and exchanges of best practices across intellectual property (IP) offices. A total of 24 IP offices were invited to participate in the VC.

The IT Security Virtual Community builds on the long-standing IT Security Network for IP Offices (ISNIPO), which has facilitated information exchanges on IT security for more than a decade.

The main objectives of this Virtual Community are to:

• Promote the exchange of information on cybersecurity

• Maintain and further develop initiatives launched under the previous EUIPO Strategic Plan, including the IT Security Dashboard and the IT Security Service Catalogue.

• Explore opportunities for joint initiatives that strengthen the IT security across the EU IP system.

Alongside this launch, the previously established Virtual Communities continued to strengthen their cooperation on IP topics during this second round of Virtual Communities in 2026.

On ECP1 IP examination, participants shared updates and discussed emerging topics such as the assessment of virtual goods in trade mark examination, the level of understanding of foreign languages and their relevance in trade mark examination, and potential synergies with ECP5 Green Best Practices.

On ECP1 Designs classification, discussions covered the latest Locarno classification developments, proposed updates to DESIGNclass terminology (new, reclassifications or deletions of products indications), and a variants cleanup exercise.

In ECP1 Prospective IP, offices shared forecasting approaches and update on the ongoing EUIPO foresight exercise.

ECP1 regarding Craft Geographical Indications (CIGIs) advanced with early lessons learned from the examination of the first CIGI applications, an overview on enforcement actions by the Observatory and the EU Commission's DG GROW and an exchange on promotional activities and learning materials.

Participants reviewed progress on ECP1 Transposition of the Design Directive, including the roll-out of administrative invalidity proceedings after the Design Reform and the use of the "D" symbol at EU and national level. This Virtual Community now counts on permanent participation from User Associations.

In ECP4 European Intellectual Property Information Centre (EIPIC), IP offices and User Associations shared best practices to raise awareness on IP and assist small businesses on their IP journey. Members exchanged information on the newest developments in the IP-backed finance initiative, including the recently launched EUIPO report 'IP-backed finance in Europe: state of play and future perspectives', exploring how intellectual property (IP) can be used as a strategic asset to secure funding and drive growth for businesses across Europe. The Virtual Community representatives also discussed Probono support for businesses, provided by independent external experts, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) training and certification organized for the national IP Office experts (completed in HU, CZ, LV, LT, SK, AT, DE, and GR), and the latest improvements made to the IP for small businesses website.

The ECP5 Inclusive IP Landscape project progressed by presenting the preliminary results of a Mapping Exercise on Inclusive Outreach. Participants discussed how strategic communication can be integrated into broader outreach efforts to strengthen engagement with women and the Next Generation in business and innovation.

Furthermore, the June sessions focused on the establishment of common examination standards ('Common Practices – CPs'). Through collaboration with national and regional IP offices and User Associations, common principles based on court decisions are being developed to create a more efficient and predictable IP system throughout the EU.

CP18 – Descriptiveness of marks designating geographical origin: based on the related EUIPO Boards of Appeal case law report, this Common Practice aims to align practices across the EU regarding whether, and to what extent, geographical names can be protected as trade marks, for example the names of countries or cities. The Virtual Community has finalized its draft proposal for a common practice in less than one year and will now submit its proposal to the EUIPO Management Board for approval. Publication is expected in the coming months.

The VC meeting for CP19 Reputed trade marks: the link under Article 5(3)(a) TMD brought together experts to discuss how to assess whether a "link" exists between conflicting trade marks when the earlier trade mark has reputation and where the use without due cause of the trade mark applied for would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the earlier trade mark. Based on the respective EUIPO Board of Appeal case-law report, participants discussed practical examples of when a reputed trade mark would trigger an association with a conflicting mark and which factors are to be taken into account.

Finally, the Virtual Community on CP20 Descriptiveness of names of colours gathered aiming to establish common examination standards for assessing the descriptiveness of signs consisting of colour names, leveraging the corresponding Board of Appeal case-law report.

Particular attention was given to situations where a colour name describe the type, quality, intended purpose, value or other characteristics of goods and/or services, including the colour of the goods themselves (for example the name "orange" for an orange).

By bringing together intellectual property offices, user associations and experts, the EUIPO continues to strengthen cooperation and support the development of a more consistent, efficient and user-friendly IP system across Europe.

(The VC Summary Report is available via the link on the original page.)

Source: European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN), original release date: 2026-07-06, original link: https://www.euipn.org/en/news-and-events/news/european-cooperation-projects-and-virtual-communities-advance-cooperation-in-q2-2026

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