Nearly 40 million counterfeit products have been seized by customs at the European border. Total worth: approximately 1 billion euro.
Although this is still a massive amount, it is still substantially less than the 115 million (almost 1.2 billion euro) products that were seized in 2011.
The number of interceptions – an interception can contain one or more products – remained virtually unchanged.
It is a signal that the customs are doing a good job.
According to a report published Monday by the European Commission on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, the 70% of were postal and courier packages. The most intercepted products: counterfeit drugs and cigarettes.
The counterfeit products originated mainly from China. Approximately 75 percent of all seized goods are destroyed.