EUIPO and the European Commission recently published new reports
on intellectual property infringements. They show that although the
number of seizures of counterfeit products has been decreasing
since 2014, the scale of the problem is still staggering.
In its report, the EUIPO Observatory – a special unit
formed to monitor infringements of intellectual property rights
–presented a summary of facts and figures on counterfeit
products between 2013 and 2017. The report, published on 19
September 2019, shows that during that period 438 million products
were seized on EU member states' borders and markets. This is
equal to one fake product per EU citizen over the age of 14.
The value of counterfeited goods is estimated at EUR 12 billon
and is equal to Malta's GDP for 2018. We know, however, that
the seizures only represent a small percentage of all fakes present
on the market. A large part of them are medication, spare parts,
and toys, which may pose a real threat to
