Counterfeits keep being a risk to health, safety, economy and the environment.
Yes, the latest joint report from EUIPO and EUROPOL, highlights the magnitude and impact of counterfeiting and piracy crimes in Europe. These activities not only pose a significant threat to IP but also endanger consumer health and safety, the environment, and the economy. Each year, billions of euros worth of counterfeit goods are seized across the EU. This is largely due to the attractiveness of lower prices to consumers, but, more critically, due to the widespread lack of awareness about how counterfeit purchases contribute to cybercrime, money laundering, and environmental offenses—incurring real costs that place considerable strain on society and the economy.
To foster a competitive economy and promote innovation, protecting IP is essential. This protection extends to a wide range of products, including food, pharmaceuticals, technological solutions, cosmetics, surgical tools, films, and literary works—all products of substantial effort that deserve and are afforded legal protection. However, with the advancement of digital technology, criminal networks have exploited increasingly sophisticated techniques to refine counterfeits, making them harder to detect and using new platforms, such as e-commerce and social media, often with the added goal of capturing personal and financial consumer data.
Thus, the report underscores the importance of awareness, education, and outreach campaigns to combat the spread of counterfeit goods. It also highlights the need for continuous monitoring and international cooperation, stressing that effective detection, prevention, and prosecution of these crimes require collaboration among industry, authorities, and consumers. Europol and EUIPO remain actively engaged in this fight, supporting security forces and reiterating that cooperation across sectors is essential to address this threat.
In this context, various cases are presented to illustrate the risks that counterfeiting poses to health, safety, the economy, and the environment, among other factors:
I- Influencers and the sale of illicit substances, dismantling a network that promoted pharmaceutical products and illegal steroids on social networks, which were distributed in gyms in Romania.
II- Labor exploitation in the production of counterfeits, with the Italian police dismantling a clandestine factory of counterfeit clothing with seven overexploited workers exposed to occupational risks.
III- Use of illegal pesticides in protected areas in Spain, where imports of toxic pesticides banned in the EU since 2020 were detected, with the consequent environmental risk.
IV- Digital piracy in Ireland, where an illegal streaming network offered pirated audiovisual content.
V- Adulteration of olive oil, which was adulterated with “lampante” oil (low-quality oil intended for industrial uses).
Finally, the report concludes by calling for a firm stand against piracy and continuing to promote defensive measures for both IP rights holders and consumers.
Cristina Abajo
ABRIL Abogados
