In 2024, police, customs and market surveillance authorities in the European Union (EU) seized around 112 million counterfeit items at the external borders and within the EU Single Market. This is a similarly high level to the preceding year, even though the number of counterfeits seized is lower than in 2023. Furthermore, this confirms a worrying trend: compared to 2022, the number of seized items rose by around 30%, and even by almost 70% compared to 2020. This is according to the 2024 annual report recently published by the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Another particularly remarkable development is the rapid growth in the estimated value of the confiscated counterfeits. This reached a new peak value of around 3.8 billion euros. This represents an increase of around 11% compared to the previous year. Compared to 2020, there was even an overall increase of approximately 81%.
As in the previous year, the majority of seizures are down to actions within the EU’s internal market. A few countries play a key role here: Italy in particular once again proved to be a leading player in seizing counterfeits. Remarkably, over 68% of all seized counterfeits resulted from operations carried out by the authorities in this Mediterranean country. Spain and France also recorded comparatively high shares of seizures and were among the more active member states. Germany is also among the top 10 EU member states involved.
Looking at the EU’s external borders, it is striking that more counterfeits were seized than in the previous year. The number of items seized rose by around 12% to a total of approximately 20 million. At the same time, the estimated value of the counterfeits also reached a considerable high, totaling around 1.51 billion euros. This corresponds to a very strong increase of about 87% compared to the previous year.
In 2024, the largest share of counterfeit items seized came from CDs and DVDs, accounting for about 35% of the total number of goods. This was followed by toys (around 18%), clothing (around 8%), and accessories (around 6%). Most of the counterfeits infringed trademark rights (around 59%), followed by copyright infringements (around 38%) and infringements of protected designs (around 4%).
China remains the predominant country of origin for counterfeits, accounting for around 42% of seizures. Türkiye (around 18%) and the United Arab Emirates (around 5%) are also strongly represented as countries of origin. Sea freight remains the prominent transport route for counterfeit goods. In 2024, around seven million items with an estimated value of over 547 million euros were seized via this route. Road transportation by truck also plays an important role: over four million items were seized here in 2024.
The EU customs statistics also highlight important new challenges in brand protection. The report particularly emphasizes the rapid technological development. This would enable the production of increasingly sophisticated counterfeits, while classic counterfeit products would remain widespread. In addition, the report mentions a diversification of transport routes with numerous access points, making it more challenging for the authorities to carry out checks.
The report concludes that, in combination with the limited resources of the authorities and the overwhelming, ever‑increasing volume of e‑commerce, a major challenge is emerging that requires effective measures. In order to combat the counterfeiting trade and effectively protect the European economy, the report calls for strong international cooperations between authorities, customs offices, and brand owners, as well as an intensive exchange of information and the use of modern technologies.
