A report published by the European Commission shows that in 2011, EU Customs detained almost 115 million products suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR). The number of intercepted cases increased by 15% compared to 2010. Products for daily use and products that could be potentially dangerous to the health and safety of consumers accounted for a total of 28.6% of the total amount of detained articles.

The European Commission published a report which highlights that, compared to 103 million intercepted fake goods in 2010, EU Customs detained almost 115 million products suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR) in 2011. According to the report, the top categories of articles stopped by customs were medicines (24%), packaging material (21%) and cigarettes (18%).

China continued to be the main source, accounting for 73% of all IPR infringing articles, says the annual report. For certain product categories other countries remain the main sources such as Turkey for foodstuffs, Panama for alcoholic drinks, Thailand for soft drinks and Hong Kong for mobile phones. Around 90% of all detained products were either destroyed or a court case was initiated to determine the infringement.

EU Customs play a crucial role in stopping products which violate intellectual property rights from entering the EU. A number of actions are being carried out by the Commission to strengthen Customs’ ability to combat such trade. In addition to them, good cooperation with trading partners can also significantly help in preventing the export of IPR infringing goods to the EU.