According to a study, online trading is widely used to sell counterfeits.
The so-called e-commerce, the trade in goods or services on the net, has become the "most important driving force for the sale of counterfeit products", according to a joint study by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organization for Economic Affairs Cooperation and Development (OECD), published on Monday at the EUIPO headquarters in Alicante, eastern Spain.
Data from 2017 to 2019 were analyzed for the study.
More than half (56 percent) of the counterfeit goods seized at EU borders were therefore purchased online.
More than 75 percent of these confiscated goods came from China, it said.
Behind them are Hong Kong with 5.7 percent, Turkey (5.6) and Singapore (3.3) by a large margin.
According to the study, the products seized from electronic commerce are mainly perfumery and cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and sunglasses.
Legal violations are increasing
“Electronic commerce has increased the choice for consumers and offers companies new, flexible options for market access.
At the same time, there is ample evidence that the online environment has also attracted negative actors who flood e-commerce channels with counterfeit goods, ”said EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau.
You are working with various agencies to combat violations of intellectual property rights on the Internet, he said.
E-commerce has grown significantly in recent years.
This trend intensified even further during the corona pandemic due to the associated mobility restrictions.