Customs authorities detain nearly 36 million fake goods at EU borders in 2013 | WPN World People News

Customs authorities in the EU detained almost 36 million items suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR) in 2013, according to the Commission's annual report on customs actions to enforce IPR. Although this is less than previous years, the value of the intercepted goods still represents more than € 760 million. The report also gives statistics on the type, provenance and transport method of counterfeit products detained at the EU's external borders.

Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud and Audit said: “Innovation and creativity is where Europe creates value. Protecting Intellectual Property Rights is not only important for health and safety of European consumers but also supports growth and job creation in the EU. The figures in the report show that counterfeiting afflicts all products and that customs authorities do a good job intercepting fakes."

Clothing (12% of all articles detained) and medicines (10%) are among the top categories of goods detained. Postal and courier packages accounted for around 70% of customs interventions in 2013, with 19% of the detentions in postal traffic concerning medicines. Around 90% of all detained goods were either destroyed or a court case was initiated to determine the infringement. China continues being the main source of fake products with 66% of all products detained coming from China and 13% coming from Hong Kong. Other countries, however, were the top source for specific product categories, such as Turkey for perfumes and cosmetics and Egypt for foodstuffs.

Source: European Commission