This report centers on copyright infringements in the online environment and aims to provide an overview of various national approaches to criminalisation in EU Member States.

It presents the minimum standards for the criminalisation of copyright infringements set by major international treaties and introduces other relevant EU instruments that have helped to harmonise key aspects of copyright protection and enforcement at EU level.

Importantly, the report delves into national legislative and court practice and assesses how the elements of the crime set in international law are reflected in national legislation and interpreted by courts, highlighting similarities and differences in national approaches across Member States. By doing so, it hopes to contribute to a better understanding of how the crime is legislated and enforced across EU jurisdictions.

This document was prepared within the framework of the IPC Project at Eurojust. The IPC Project is funded by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and implemented by Eurojust under the terms of the service-level agreement signed between the two EU agencies in March 2021.