At the end of November 2023, EUIPO and DG TAXUD published their annual report setting out the results achieved in the EU enforcement of IP rights. The report (available here) includes crucial information on the EU border and EU internal market detention of goods during 2022.

In relation to detentions at EU borders, data were reported by the customs authorities of the Member States via the COPIS system, i.e., the anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy information system, while the enforcement authorities of 24 Member States collected data on the detentions within the internal market through the IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP).

Detentions at the EU borders

Compared to 2021 the number of border detentions decreased by approximately 15%, as did the number of products detained (approximately 40% less). On the other hand, the estimated value of the detained goods increased by almost Euro 100 million (from Euro 847 million in 2021 to Euro 943 million in 2022).

With regard to the categories of the detained products, the highest number of goods detained were cheaper products. These categories included packaging material, toys, clothing, labels, tags and stickers.

Procedures instigated as a result of detentions, on the other hand, related mainly to more common consumer products, such as clothing and footwear, and luxury goods, such as bags, wallets, jewellery and watches. In 2022, however, the number of procedures decreased by approximately 21% compared to 2021. There were in fact approximately 125,000 procedures in 2021 while only 99,000 in 2022.

As regards the countries of origin of the detained products, China was at the top of the list followed by Turkey and Hong Kong. The categories of goods most detained and coming from these countries were packaging material, clothing and mobile phone accessories.

Finally, the ratio of reported detentions of counterfeit goods to the total number of equivalent imported goods that crossed the EU borders is significant: in 2022, approximately Euro 0.44 of counterfeit products were detained per Euro 1,000 of equivalent imported goods.

Detentions in the EU internal market

Contrary to the detentions at the EU borders, the total number of goods detained within the EU internal market increased by approximately 14 million compared to 2021. The figures were 67 million in 2022, and 53 million in the 2021. On the other hand, the value of detained goods decreased by Euro 27 million, i.e. 2% less than the previous year.

The main categories of detained goods were games, cigarettes, packaging material, toys and, lastly, recorded CDs/DVDs.

The top six Member States accounted for almost 97% of the total detentions within the internal market. Among these, Italy ranks first with more than half of the detentions made in 2022 (almost 63% of the total number of detained articles, corresponding to 55% of the total estimated value of the detained goods).

Conclusions

Finally, the report shows the aggregated data on detentions (at EU borders and within the EU internal market). More precisely, in 2022, approximately 86 million fake articles were detained and thus did not enter the EU market (2% less than in 2021), corresponding to a total estimated value of approximately Euro 2 billion (a 3% increase over the previous year).

Trademarks were the main IP rights infringed (EU, national and/or international), while the five most detained categories of goods were games, packaging material, toys, cigarettes and recorded CDs/DVDs.

With almost 50% of the total detained products (both at the EU borders and in the EU internal market), equal to over 33% of the total value, Italy recorded the highest individual share in terms of volume, thus maintaining its leading position as the most active country in Europe taking action to fight counterfeiting in the European Union. It is clear is that the current customs monitoring and detention tools for the protection of IP rights, in the European and Italian markets, serve a useful and effective purpose.

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