Illegal food products worth millions seized in Europol operation
Around 22,000 tonnes of counterfeit and other illegal food products, as well as around 850,000 liters of illegal beverages, mainly alcoholic ones, were seized by authorities in the thirteenth installment of Europol’s OPSON operation. In total, the investigators confiscated goods worth around 91 million euros. According to information from officials, the authorities once again saw an ongoing trend of criminal organizations selling expired or spoiled food with fake labels. Looking at counterfeit and mislabeled goods, olive oil and wine with protected designations of origin were particularly affected. Investigators from Europol, other European agencies, and law enforcement authorities from 29 countries, working together with partners from the private sector, conducted over 5,800 checks and inspections, dismantled eleven criminal networks, and reported around 280 people to the judicial authorities.
France: Customs seize thousands of counterfeit car parts
In the port of Marseille, French customs officials seized around 78,000 counterfeit car parts over a period of just over a year. As the authorities disclosed in September, the counterfeits were to be imported from Turkey in four large shipments between March 2023 and July 2024. During inspections of affected containers, officials found counterfeits of various car brands worth almost four million euros. These included air, oil, and fuel filters, wheel covers, and shock absorbers, for example. According to authorities, Turkey was the second most frequently detected country of origin for counterfeit automotive spare parts, after China. In May of this year, Turkish authorities had seized almost one million counterfeit automotive filters worth around 20 million euros in Turkey.
Italy: wine counterfeiting ring broken up
In mid‑October, French, Italian, and Swiss authorities dismantled a criminal network dealing in counterfeit French wines with protected designations of origin, in a joint operation supported by Europol. According to the authorities, the counterfeit wines were fabricated in Italy and distributed worldwide by air freight, apparently with up to 15,000 euros being charged for a single bottle. Based on the counterfeiters’ modus operandi, the authorities identified a connection to an earlier Europol investigation. Further inquiries eventually led to 14 raids in the Turin and Milan areas and to six arrests. The goods seized included counterfeit wine bottles and labels, as well as machines and materials for producing counterfeits, in addition to luxury items and over 100,000 euros in cash.
TikTok Shop releases first IP protection report
For the first time ever, the e‑commerce platform TikTok Shop has published a report on its intellectual property protection activities. According to the Chinese company, more than 4,800 seller accounts were deactivated for IP violations between July 2023 and June 2024, and over 180,000 notices and takedown requests from brand owners for IP rights infringements were processed. Of these, TikTok Shop reportedly processed 94% within 1.5 days each. In addition, TikTok Shop reportedly also prevented almost five million products from going live on the platform during the twelve‑month period. What’s more, TikTok Shop also says it offers training materials for retailers, among other things. The online marketplace TikTok Shop, which launched last year in the U.S. and before that in Asia, has faced criticism that the platform was a distribution channel for counterfeits. The corresponding social network TikTok, which now has around one billion active users a month, would also be used to promote counterfeits. The TikTok Shop Intellectual Property Rights Report was published at the end of October.