EUIPO and OECD Identify Albania and Ukraine as Key Transit Points for EU-Bound Counterfeits

On June 23, 2017, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled “Mapping the Real Routes of Trade in Fake Goods”, which assesses the routes associated with the global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.

Using global data on customs seizures provided mainly by the World Customs Organization, the report identifies key producing economies and key transit points for ten main industry sectors that are particularly vulnerable to counterfeiting:

• Clothing and textile fabrics
• Leather articles and handbags
• Optical, photographic and medical equipment
• Electronics and electrical equipment
• Footwear
• Toys, games and sport equipment
• Jewelry
• Perfumery and cosmetics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Foodstuffs

The combined trade of counterfeits in these sectors amounted to EUR 208 billion (USD 284 billion) in 2013, which is more than half of the total estimated trade in fake goods.

Actors that participate in the trade of counterfeits tend to ship them via complex routes with many intermediary and regional transit points. For fakes destined for the EU, Albania and Ukraine were identified as the most significant transit points, alongside Egypt and Morocco. These transit points are used to facilitate falsification of documents, establish distribution centers and repackage or re-label goods. Importantly, while imports of counterfeits are, in most cases, targeted by local authorities, goods in transit are often not within their scope, which means they are less likely to be intercepted.

Prepared by: Djurdja Krivokapić

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Source: EUIPO