COVID-19 prompts rise in pirated goods, says EUIPO
The distribution of counterfeit and pirated goods increased by more than 5% during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the new report.
The latest Intellectual Property Crime Threat Assessment, produced jointly between Europol and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), has revealed that imports of counterfeit and pirated goods were worth €119 billion ($130 billion), representing 5.8% of all goods entering the European Union.
The report is based on data gathered from across the EU and from Europol’s operational information and builds on the findings of a previously developed Threat Assessment, published in 2019.
Executive director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau, said the report “cast new light” on counterfeiting and piracy within the EU by highlighting the potential damage to consumers’ health and the impact on businesses that are recovering from COVID-19.
“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,” added Archambeau.
IP crime has been included as one of the EU’s priorities in the fight against serious and organised crime from 2022 to 2025 as part of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
Europol’s Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle, noted that the trend presented huge risks and challenges.
“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. 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,” she said.
Most popular counterfeit
The report also showed some key trends in various product sectors primarily targeted by counterfeiters. Clothes, accessories and luxury goods remain among the most popular product categories for counterfeit goods, sold both online and in physical marketplaces. They are one of the top categories of the approximately 66 million counterfeit items seized by authorities in the EU in 2020.
In addition to the categories of counterfeit clothes and luxury products seized, there is a growing trade in fake products which have the potential to damage human health, such as counterfeit medicines, food and beverages, cosmetics and toys.
Counterfeit pharmaceutical products, ranging from a variety of medicines to personal protective equipment or face masks, have been increasingly identified in recent years.
Shift to online markets
Distribution has shifted almost entirely from physical to online markets, raising public health concerns. These illicit products for the most part continue to originate from outside the EU, but they may also be produced in illegal laboratories within the EU, which are difficult to detect and can be set up with relatively few resources.
The Threat Assessment highlights that the distribution of counterfeit products mostly relies on digital platforms, a trend that has been reinforced by the pandemic and widespread online consumption. Counterfeit goods are offered on online marketplaces, via live-streaming, videos and advertising on social media platforms, and instant messaging services, usually targeting customers with misleading discounts or low-price branded products.
Domestic counterfeit manufacturing
The assessment underlines that, although the majority of counterfeits in the EU market are produced outside Europe, mainly in China and other parts in Asia, domestic manufacturing within the EU is an increasing trend.
The increasing importation of counterfeit packaging materials and semi-finished products into the EU clearly points to the presence of illegal manufacturing facilities in the EU. Criminal networks based in Europe involved in IP crime carry out the distribution of imported counterfeits and, in some cases, operate modern production facilities that assemble semi-finished products.
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