Counterfeits and lookalikes caught by customs in Germany

 

As the OECD reported, the sale of counterfeit goods is responsible for 2.5% of all global trade. Researchers base this figure on data gathered by several sources, including the amount of illicit products seized by customs. Indeed, national customs agencies are amongst the most important actors in the fight against the trade of fake products.

 

| Counterfeit sales account for 2.5% of global trade

 

 

German customs in action

Fake products cause several billion euros worth of damages to the German economy every year. In 2021, this number rose as high as 59 billion euros, with one in nine companies falling victim to counterfeiting. Small and medium enterprises are usually more severely hit than large companies, given their smaller pool of resources to protect themselves and bounce back.

 

However, every company can become a target. In the spring of 2024, German customs seized over 15,000 pairs of Nike shoes, 1,900 Hello Kitty plushies, 7,000 Super Mario keyrings and 1,000 Game Boy consoles, all fake.

 

A few months later, around 5 tonnes (12,404 pieces) of counterfeit shirts were seized that resembled a well-known brand’s design that German customs decided not to name in their press release. This many of the brand’s original shirts would’ve been worth 1.4 million euros.

 

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, 72.1% of all fake products seized in Germany originate from China. Hong Kong comes second with 10.1%, while Turkey is responsible for 6.4% of counterfeits, with the UK bringing up the rear with 1.2% The remaining 10% is divided between other countries.

 

 

Graphic illustrating the distribution of the origin of fake products seized in Germany

 

 

After confiscation, the overwhelming majority of fake products are destroyed at the request of rights holders. This means that counterfeiting not only harms the brands and their customers, but also the environment.

 

Discover seven types of harm fake products can cause you!

 

Between 2020 and 2022, German customs had seized 31 million counterfeit products. The year of 2021 has been the worst with over 18 million fakes, while after that there’s been a sharp decline with 2022 bringing “only” 8 million and 2023 3 million confiscations.

 

| German customs seized 31 million counterfeits from 2020 to 2022

 

One of the reasons behind the 2021 surge may be the increased volume of online trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the declining numbers can also be caused by the fact that counterfeiters are getting better at what they do, making it much harder for customs to recognise and seize fake products.

 

In addition, fraudsters have also gotten better at making sure their shipments fall under the radar of customs officers. Declaring goods under their value, or packing parts of the same shipment in separate boxes is an age-old trick that’s aimed to help sellers (and buyers) evade the obligatory taxes levied on products with a value of 150+ euros entering the EU.

 

 

AI-generated illustration of customs officers inspecting papers at a container yard

 

 

Sellers on Chinese platforms like Temu, AliExpress and SHEIN are especially fond of these techniques. Unfortunately, dishonest sellers can also abuse the EU’s One-stop-shop VAT policy, which is originally aimed at harmonising e-Commerce across the bloc.

 

According to this, sellers of products entering the EU must pay their VAT to the member state where their point of entry is located. This member state is then responsible for sending the amount on to the destination country. However, critics say that the system is currently not working well due to the lack of information exchange between member state authorities.

 

With over 2 billion packages arriving annually via Temu, SHEIN and Co., EU authorities are overwhelmed and often unable to stop counterfeits from entering the market.

 

| Over 2 billion packages arrive in the EU every year via Temu, SHEIN and Co.

 

  

Counterfeits flying low

In addition to land and sea, counterfeit products can also travel by air. Consequently, customs officers at airport hubs like Liege in Belgium or Frankfurt in Germany have a rapidly increasing workload.

 

 

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Frankfurt customs have flagged 10,624 cases of IP infringements in the airport over the course of 2023. This corresponds to 722,647 confiscated fake products reaching a value of 27 million euros. Most of the seized fakes were cosmetics, clothing, shoes, electronics, car parts, cell phones and sporting goods. In line with the general trends mentioned above, most of these products were sent from China, Turkey, as well as Egypt and Thailand.

 

And that’s just one point of entry in one EU member state.

 

 

Online brand protection against counterfeiting

As the numbers show, customs are overwhelmed by the enormous amounts of fake products flooding into Europe. Unable to stop them all, these products then make their way to end users, damaging their health, your brand’s reputation, the environment and the economy.

 

Find out why your brand’s reputation matters!

 

However, while a fake product needs to land in the consumer’s hands to adversely affect their health, your brand’s IP rights are exposed to serious harm much earlier in the process. Namely, when a counterfeit version of your product appears online as a fake ad and/or a fraudulent product listing.

 

In that stage, EU customs don’t even have a chance to detect and stop the fake product from entering the market. In fact, it’s up to you to find every single piece of IP infringing content on the internet and prevent it from causing you any harm. That is an impossibly complex and enormous task for any brand.

 

Unless you set up a comprehensive online brand protection programme.

 

With the aid of globaleyez’s flexible and scalable services, you can enjoy a highly targeted online brand protection programme that is perfectly tailored to your brand’s specific needs.

 

For example, our marketplace monitoring service detects potentially IP infringing listings on over 150 online marketplaces all over the world. Add in some image monitoring to capture fake ads and your brand’s stolen or copied imagery circulating online.

 

Our test purchase service collects crucial information about the origins of a product and the identity of its seller. In addition, our court-admissible documentation processes create a useful paper trail that you can submit as evidence in an eventual court case.

 

Finally, we offer to enforce your rights and demand the takedown of IP infringing content from the internet.

 

 

Conclusion

It’s the job of customs to protect our markets from counterfeit products. However, the sheer amount of goods entering our countries makes it impossible for customs to inspect every single package. Besides, fake products can hurt your brand much earlier than their arrival in consumers’ homes. But who protects your brand then?

 

It’s the job of online brand protection experts like globaleyez to detect and eliminate threats to your brand’s IP rights on the internet. Contact us and learn more about how we can work together to safeguard your brand’s invaluable IP rights!