The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in cooperation with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), has launched the European Intellectual Property Crime Threat Assessment 2022 Report. In it, organizations have reconfirmed that intellectual property crimes are posing a serious threat to the health and safety of consumers and economically damaging. The study is based on information received by Europol from Member States, European Agencies and other partners (SOCTA 2021 program).

The pandemic situation has created favorable circumstances for the growth of business in the field of distribution of counterfeit products and substances, the Report also shows. Like many other illegal activities, counterfeiting occurs most often in the online environment, especially when it comes to purchasing raw materials and distributing finished products on various social media platforms.

It is assumed that the criminal networks organizing the importation and distribution of counterfeit goods in the European Union are based outside it (China, Greece, Turkey and others). It was shown that the value of imported counterfeit and pirated goods amounted to EUR 119 billion in 2019, representing 5.8% of all goods entering the EU market.

According to the Report, the products most exposed to counterfeiting are:

1. Clothes, accessories and luxury goods;

2. Electronic/electrical devices, mobile phones and components;

3. Food and drink;

4. Perfumes and cosmetic products;

5. Pesticides;

6. Pharmaceutical products;

7. Pyrotechnic products;

8. Tobacco products;

9. Toys;

10. Other commodities;

11. Packaging materials.

The Republic of Moldova is included in this report as a country of origin for some counterfeit food and drink. In 2020, foodstuffs (in particular cookies, pasta, crisps and sweets) were the second most commonly seized category of products at the European Union’s external border. China and Turkey ranked in the top of non-European countries of origin from which counterfeit food products originate, followed by Albania, Ukraine, Jordan, Moldova and Panama.

Another category in which the Republic of Moldova is found is that of packaging materials for cigarettes. The raw material for their production, logos and labels are usually shipped separately from counterfeit goods. The packaging shape, the size and the accuracy with which the label is reproduced can be indicators of a counterfeit product. However, consumers are often unable to distinguish counterfeit packaging from the genuine product, which means that some cases of this offense go unnoticed and therefore unpunished.

The report also contains research on the volume of counterfeit and pirated products in international trade and an analysis of the key contribution of sectors that intensively capitalize on intellectual property rights to economic growth and creation of new jobs.

The full report can be studied here.