Approximately 86 million fake items were detained in the European Union in 2022 (at the EU external border and in the internal market), according to a joint report by the EUIPO and the European Commission published today. The estimated value of fake items detained in the EU amounted to over EUR 2 billion, an increase of approximately 3 % in 2022 compared to 2021.
86 million fake items
The report also shows that the five most detained products, in terms of the number of items detained in the whole EU, were games, packaging material, toys, cigarettes and recorded CDs/DVDs. These items accounted for more than 72 % of the products recorded. By shipping this cheap packaging material separately from the valuable, but still unbranded, IP infringing goods and assembling both inside the EU, infringers try to avoid detentions.
While the number of items detained at the EU border in 2022 went down by 43 % in 2022 compared to 2021, their value increased by 11 % compared to the previous year, because more items with a higher domestic retail value were detained than in the previous year. When it comes to internal market detentions, more fake goods were stopped by police and market surveillance authorities than in 2021 (an increase of almost 26 %). The value of those goods decreased, however, due to the higher percentage of detained items belonging to cheaper product categories.
The report is based on figures provided by police, customs and market surveillance authorities from EU Member States in 2022 and published today by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in a joint document on ‘EU enforcement of intellectual property rights: results at the EU border and in the EU internal market 2022’. The joint annual document shows the annual results for enforcement of IP rights by EU enforcers at the EU border and in the EU internal market respectively.
Top provenance countries
Ten Member States (Italy, France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Hungary, Greece and Portugal) accounted for over 96 % of the total number of fake items detained in 2022 in the EU. Italy accounted for over half of the total number of fake items, and for over 33 % in terms of estimated value.
This in previous years, China remains the main country of origin for the majority of fake goods entering the EU in 2022, followed by Türkiye (from which the most detained category is clothing) and Hong Kong, China (from which the most detained category is related to mobile phone accessories). In 2022, postal and express courier remained the most significant means of transport in terms of the number of cases registered.
Top categories 2022
Overall, the five most common subcategories of identified detained products, in terms of the number
of items detained in the whole EU, were games; packaging material; toys; cigarettes and recorded
CDs/DVDs. These five subcategories accounted for more than 72 % of the products recorded. In
terms of the estimated value of the items reported, the subcategories of products identified were led
by watches; clothing; bags, wallets and purses; jewellery and games. These five subcategories
represented almost 64 % of the estimated value of detentions reported during 2022.