Abstract: A standard or set of standards is limited or exhaustive when it excludes from its objective the complementary application of any other standard. A study by the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted in 2016 estimated that international trade in counterfeit and pirated products was around 461 billion USD. Under these circumstances, we must recognize that the ultimate beneficiaries in international trade in counterfeit and pirated products are the consumers. The owner of an intellectual property right cannot obtain additional protection in comparison with the legislation which specifically regulates his right if it does not fully absorb the issue of consumer protection as beneficiaries of products and services. The objective of this paper is to analyze, in a comparative perspective, how intellectual property rights and consumer law interact in the new environment of knowledge-based business.

Keywords: intellectual property, electronic commerce, consumer, counterfeit product, piracy.