On 13 November 2024, the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published their 2023 joint report on the EU enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). In the report, the two organisations provide an overview of the work carried out by EU customs officials responsible for the enforcement of IPR, and highlight the growing need for continued action against counterfeiters. For the 2022 IPR Enforcement Report →eucrim 4/2023, 326-327.

In 2023, EU customs authorities intercepted counterfeit goods worth nearly €3.4 billion. This marked a 77% increase against the previous year, with around 152 million items seized, including toys, games, and packaging materials.

The report confirmed several trends from previous years:

• For the second year in a row, "games" is the product category which was mostly detained in 2023. In the top five product categories remain "toys”, "recorded CDs/DVDs”, and "packaging material”;
• Almost the entire total volume of detentions (98%) and the entire estimated value (over 94%) were reported by ten EU Member States; Italy remains on the top of the list in terms of detained fake items (74%) and the account for the estimated value (58%);
• As to the list of the top three countries of provenance in terms of volume of IPR infringing goods entering the EU, 2023 again showed the preponderance of China with over 56%, followed by Hong Kong with almost 9% and Turkey with over 8%.

The report highlighted the growing challenges posed by counterfeit goods, especially with the rise of e-commerce, which not only harm legitimate businesses but also endanger the health and safety of EU consumers.

In response, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU Customs Union, the most ambitious since its founding in 1968. The reform aims to establish an EU Customs Authority, create a new EU Customs Data Hub, and provide enhanced tools and a stronger regulatory framework for customs authorities (→eucrim 2/2023, 158-159). These measures seek to streamline information exchange, improve supply chain monitoring, and bolster consumer safety while supporting a more competitive Single Market.