New product safety regulations in the EU

 

As of December 2024, new product safety regulations will come into effect in the European Union. While the corresponding EU Regulation 2023/988, also referred to as the General Product Safety Regulation (GSPR) has already been adopted in 2023, the European Commission has decided to give a grace period to allow merchants to get ready for the new rules.

 

This ends on 13 December 2024, which means that sellers and online marketplaces have only a few months left to get all their ducks in a row.

 

 

The new EU product safety rules

The new regulation amends and updates the previous EU directive on product safety as well as the Food Imitating Product Directive. Thus the aim of the new regulation is to include emerging technologies, to harmonise existing rules and to strengthen the protection of consumers in the increasingly interconnected space of global commerce.

 

All non-food products, including new, used and refurbished goods made available on the European market, both on- and offline must adhere to the new rules.

 

The GSPR details the duties of each party affected by the rules, including manufacturers, their EU representatives, importers and distributors, as well as all platforms of sale, like online marketplaces and single webshops.

 

For example, product listings on online marketplaces have to feature clear identification of the manufacturer and their authorised representative (Responsible Person) based in the EU. This has to include their contact information like name and email address, as well as their duties regarding online sales.

 

A clear description including product pictures have to appear on the listing, along with details of its intended use and target audience. Specific health-and-safety cautions must be displayed, warning of the dangers of using the product outside of its intended scope and audience. This is especially important in case of products that may appear as food but are not. (Remember the Tide Pod Challenge?)

 

Besides sellers and manufacturers, online marketplaces also face added duties under the new GSPR. For example, they have to identify and display their single point of contact for their Safety Gate Portal, the EU’s rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products.

 

As mentioned above, the new GSPR only covers non-food products. This means that other products like food, animal feed, live animals, plants, pharmaceuticals and plant protection products are covered by other pieces of legislation.

 

Should a vendor or online marketplace fail to comply with the GSPR, the regulation makes it the responsibility of EU member states to impose a proportionate penalty on the offender.

 

 

Reception of the new GSPR

While increased product safety and consumer protection is usually a desirable outcome, not all sellers welcome the new rules. Indeed, especially small businesses find it hard to comply with the extra administration the GSPR puts on their shoulders.

 

In addition, some vendors fear that displaying the manufacturer’s information may lead consumers and competitors to turn directly to the manufacturer and cut them out of the process entirely.

 

 

Related topics

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Visible VAT IDs on online marketplaces - threat or opportunity?

 

  

Dealing with the GSPR

As December draws near, online marketplaces get ready to comply with the newly introduced rules. Many platforms offer some kind of help to their sellers to make the transition easier.

 

 

Amazon

The e-Commerce giant dedicated an entire section in its Seller Central to share detailed information with its vendors about how to comply with the GSPR. Amazon warns that listings not adhering to the new rules will be removed from 13 December 2024 onwards. By the way, the choice of deadline is interesting because it’s right in the middle of the Christmas shopping season where sellers can expect to have a lot of turnover on Amazon and other e-Commerce platforms.

 

 

AI-generated illustration of a warehouse employee checking product information

 

 

Products already sent to the company’s Fulfilment Centres before the deadline can still be sold, provided their listing is up to date with the new legislation. Amazon reserves the right to delete non-complying listings from the platform, and to terminate the accounts of sellers in serious breach of the GSPR.

 

Learn all about fulfilment!

 

 

eBay

Similarly to Amazon, eBay has also added a new section complete with FAQ to its Seller Portal to educate its vendors about the new regulation and the necessary changes they’ll need to make. In addition, the marketplace also works on features that will make it easier for sellers to publish the newly required information on their product listings.

 

eBay advises its sellers not to wait until the last day but to start gathering all necessary information and upload it as soon as possible. The platform has to comply with the legislation and take all the required steps in case a listing doesn’t adhere to the GSPR after the deadline.

 

 

Kaufland

German marketplace Kaufland also provides its sellers with information on how to comply with the heightened product safety and data disclosure requirements. If a listing doesn’t contain the appropriate additions after the deadline, Kaufland reserves the right to hide it from consumers.

 

Similarly to eBay, Kaufland is also working on features to help sellers add the required information to their product listings. The marketplace’s goal is to ensure a seamless transition and that sellers can continue to upload new listings complete with the newly required information as before.

 

Find out everything you need to know about Kaufland!

 

 

OTTO

OTTO informed its sellers via a letter about the changes coming into effect in December. Currently it’s only possible to upload all new information, i.e. the name of the manufacturer/importer, their postal address in the EU and their email address, together in one batch onto the product listings.

 

Failure to do so will result in the deactivation of the product listings in question.

 

Learn more about OTTO!

 

 

Online brand protection and increased product safety

We at globaleyez welcome any piece of legislation that aims to strengthen the protection of consumers and increase the amount of publicly available information. We hope that the new GSPR will serve the needs of consumers and brands alike.

 

Unfortunately, we know of a group of vendors quite unlikely to comply with the new regulation: fraudsters. People who intentionally infringe on your brand’s IP rights will probably not be deterred by the GSPR and may come up with colourful ways to circumvent the new requirements. Depending on how vigilant online marketplaces will be at monitoring compliance, they may even get away with it for a while. That is, unless you already have the appropriate online brand protection measures in place.

 

Our marketplace monitoring service, for instance, detects any potentially IP infringing listings on over 150 marketplaces worldwide. Thanks to keyword-based searches and extensive filtering options, we quickly find suspicious listings and eliminate authorised offers.

 

Sometimes it’s necessary to find out the quantities of your products an infringing (or an authorised!) vendor is selling. In that case, we recommend our marketplace sales tracking service to determine how many of your products are sold by which seller.

 

Since fraudsters often used copied or stolen imagery to advertise their fake products, a round of image monitoring is needed. In addition to actually finding the images, our service is also essential for connecting the dots between seemingly independent fraudulent operators. Our specialised tool infrimage performs systematic reverse image searches tailored to your exact requirements.

 

Want to try your hand at image monitoring? Test infrimage yourself!

 

Fraudsters often hide their real identities behind fake names and nonexistent addresses. However, if we actually buy something from them, the transaction itself and the arriving product contain crucial information that can help lead us to the fraudsters. This is why we developed and offer our widely popular test purchase service. Thanks to an anonymous purchase, you’ll learn everything you need about the seller and the origins of the product.

 

Not only counterfeit products can harm your brand. In fact, even your own products can be harmful if their sellers decide to offer them outside of their authorised territories. This phenomenon is called a grey market, and it can have devastating effects on the price structure and trust in your distribution network. We have developed our grey market solution to address this issue and to assist your brand by dismantling harmful grey market structures.

 

Finally, we can enforce your rights and ensure the removal of the infringing product listing or any other web content from the internet. By the way, IP infringement is not the only reason for a takedown. Non-compliance with the new GSPR works just as well!

 

 

Conclusion

The new rules set by the GSPR will hopefully help increase the transparency and safety of online trade. However, since it wasn’t designed with the security of brands’ IP rights in mind, the new regulation won’t be enough to protect your brand against counterfeiters and grey market sellers.

 

If you want to keep your invaluable IP rights safe, contact us and let’s create a comprehensive online brand protection programme for you, perfectly tailored to your brand’s exact needs.