The distribution of counterfeit goods has been thriving throughout the pandemic, according to a report from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and EUROPOL.
“Counterfeiting and piracy continue to be a serious threat to health and safety of consumers, as well as to the European economy,” their report explains.
“Imports of counterfeit and pirated goods reached €119 billion in 2019, representing 5.8% of all goods entering the EU, according to the latest data from OECD and EUIPO.”
While counterfeit goods are still largely manufactured abroad and then shipped to Europe, the report said that some fake products are increasingly being made within Member States.
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“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new business opportunities for criminals to distribute counterfeit and substandard goods. At best, these products will not perform as well as authentic ones. At worst, they can fail catastrophically,” said Europol’s Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle.
“Law enforcement seizures indicate that the production of these goods is increasingly taking place within the EU, while the COVID-19 pandemic has further entrenched the criminals’ reliance on the digital domain to source and distribute their illegal goods.”
Belgium sees record seizures of counterfeit cigarettes
Not all counterfeit products are equally dangerous, but ones intended for human consumption are particularly risky.
In Belgium, customs officers confiscated a record 126 million counterfeit cigarettes at three locations in and around Antwerp in January 2020, alone. Another seven million contraband cigarettes bound for the EU and the UK were seized in Greece over the weekend.
The trade in illicit pesticides, on the other hand, is a low-risk but high-profit activity, which EUIPO and EUROPOL say is sustained by a high demand and low sanctions for the offenders. Belgium was among the biggest exporters (together with Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and France) of pesticides, and illicit production facilities have been discovered in the country.
Shopping holidays see spikes in counterfeit sales
Some of the most popular goods to counterfeit are mobile phones, their accessories and components, which are sold in especially great numbers during sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Counterfeiters have also been exploiting the recent global supply shortage in semiconductor chips.
Other commonly counterfeited products include shampoo, toothpaste or detergents, and the COVID-19 pandemic also led to an increased offer of illicit digital content.
“This new threat assessment casts new light on the scope and trends of counterfeiting and piracy within the EU, and highlights the serious damage that can be caused to consumers’ health as well as the impact on legitimate businesses, particularly during these challenging times of COVID-19 recovery,” said the Executive Director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau.
“Criminals have shown their ability to adapt to the new opportunities generated by the pandemic, and we must continue to support, through our close collaboration with Europol, the efforts of law enforcement authorities in the fight against IP crime.”
