The International Trademark Association recently announced its approval of the new Intellectual Property Rights Strategy document published by the European Commission.

The document lays out a comprehensive framework of actions and policies that are intended to guide the European Commission as it revamps the intellectual property system in the European Union to create a more integrated framework.

According to the INTA, the "ambitious initiative" is expected to lead to greater protection of intellectual property rights in a range of frameworks, including trademarks, patents, copyrights and geographical indications.

In addition to the INTA's praise for the document, the association also claimed that certain areas of policy could be expanded even further.

Such areas include the interception of goods in transit, which "could have been addressed more comprehensively and clearly in the draft text of the Customs Regulation proposal." Similarly, the strategy "should have included efforts and a strategy to harmonize criminal sanctions in the European Union," the INTA said in a statement.

The INTA is a membership association made up of more than 5,700 members. Its membership base includes trademark owners and professionals from more than 190 countries worldwide.