Report on EU customs enforcement of intellectual property rights : results at the EU border 2016.
Date: 2017-07-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union
Subjects: activity report, customs, customs cooperation, customs inspection, customs union, intellectual property

Report on EU customs 
enforcement of

intellectual 
property rights

Results at the EU border 2016

Taxation and
Customs Union

Report on EU customs 
enforcement of

intellectual 
property rights

Results at the EU border 2016

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use 
that might be made of the following information.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017

© European Union, 2017

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

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14.12.2011, p. 39).

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sought directly from the copyright holders.

Print 

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-79-69737-1 

ISSN 1977-2394 

doi:10.2778/880481 

KP-AD-17-001-EN-C

ISBN 978-92-79-69736-4 

ISSN 2315-005X 

doi:10.2778/164664 

KP-AD-17-001-EN-N

Contents

  1. 

  2. 

  3. 

  4. 

  5. 

  6. 

  7. 

  8. 

  9. 

10. 

11. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................................................5

COOPERATION BETWEEN CUSTOMS AND RIGHT-HOLDERS ............................................................................................6

IPR DETENTIONS BY NUMBER OF CASES AND ARTICLES .................................................................................................7

RESULTS OF DETENTIONS...................................................................................................................................................................9

PRODUCT CATEGORIES ......................................................................................................................................................................10

PROVENANCE...........................................................................................................................................................................................12

FREIGHT/PASSENGER TRAFFIC .......................................................................................................................................................12

TRANSPORT ..............................................................................................................................................................................................13

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ..............................................................................................................................................14

CUSTOMS PROCEDURE ......................................................................................................................................................................15

Annexes
Annex 1 

OVERVIEW OF CASES AND ARTICLES DETAINED PER MEMBER STATE .......................................................17

Annex 2 

 BREAKDOWN OF NUMBER OF PROCEDURES, ARTICLES AND THE RETAIL 
VALUE  PER PRODUCT SECTOR ..........................................................................................................................................18

Annex 3 

OVERVIEW NUMBER OF CASES BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016 (PROCEDURES) .........................................20

Annex 4 

OVERVIEW NUMBER OF ARTICLES BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016 .....................................................................20

Annex 5 

OVERVIEW PER PRODUCT SECTOR OF COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE ........................................................21

Annex 6 

TOP 3 COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE BY NUMBER OF ARTICLES ...................................................................23

Annex 7 

TOP 3 COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE BY VALUE (EQUIVALENT DRV) ..........................................................24

Annex 8 

OVERVIEW PASSENGER TRAFFIC ......................................................................................................................................25

Annex 9 

MEANS OF TRANSPORT IN RELATION TO NUMBER OF CASES, ARTICLES AND RETAIL VALUE ........26

Annex 10  OVERVIEW MEANS OF TRANSPORT .................................................................................................................................27

Annex 11 

  OVERVIEW POSTAL TRAFFIC ................................................................................................................................................28

 
 
   
1.  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Detention Totals

Cases

Procedures

Articles

2015

81 098

2016

63 184

95 313

77 705

40 728 675

41 387 132

Domestic retail value

€ 642 108 323

€ 672 899 102

Countries of provenance.
China continues to be the main country of provenance from 
where goods suspected of infringing an IPR were sent to the 
EU.  Looking  at  the  specific  product  categories,  some  other 
countries appear as the main country of provenance, notably 
Singapore  for  alcoholic  beverages,  the  Islamic  Republic  of 
Iran  for  clothing  accessories,  Hong  Kong,  China  for  mobile 
phones  and  accessories,  CD/DVD  and  accessories  and  parts 
for vehicles, and India for medicines.

Product categories.
The  top  categories  of  detained  articles  were  cigarettes, 
which accounted for 24% of the overall amount of detained 
articles  followed  by  toys  (17%),  foodstuff  (13%),  packaging 
material (12%) and other goods (8%). Compared with 2015, 
the category packaging material substituted labels, tags and 
stickers in the top 5.

Means of transport.
Although  detentions  in  postal  traffic  went  down  with  28%, 
courier  traffic  and  postal  traffic  together  still  accounted  for 
73% of all detentions. The type of articles detained are mainly 
consumer articles ordered via e-commerce like shoes, clothing 
and  accessories,  although  in  terms  of  quantities  packaging 
material,  medicines  and  labels  are  in  the  top  5.  In  terms  of 
number  of  detained  articles,  sea  traffic  is  by  far  the  biggest 
sector and there are strong increases in rail and road traffic.

Health and safety concerns.
Products for daily use and products that would be potentially 
dangerous to the health and safety of consumers (i.e. suspected 
trademark infringements concerning food and beverages, body 
care  articles,  medicines,  electrical  household  goods  and  toys) 
accounted for 34.2% (a significant increase compared to 25.8% 
in 2015) of the total amount of detained articles.

Destruction of goods.
In  82%  of  the  detention  procedures  started  by  customs,  the 
goods  were  destroyed  after  the  owner  of  the  goods  and  the 
right-holder agreed on destruction. In 8% of the detentions a 
court case was started to determine the infringement or as part 
of criminal proceedings.

In  number  of  articles,  77%  of  the  articles  were  destroyed  or 
were  subject  to  proceedings.  However,  23%  of  the  articles 
were  released  because  the  right-holder  did  not  react  to  the 
notification by customs (8%) or they were eventually found to 
be original goods (15%).

4

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 20162.  INTRODUCTION

The annual publication of the result of customs actions at the EU 
external borders provides an opportunity to measure the scale 
of  customs  actions  to  enforce  IPR.  The  enforcement  of  IPR  by 
customs is a priority for the Commission and the Member States. 

Innovation and creativity are the engines of our economy. It is 
important  to  provide  right-owners  with  the  certainty  that  the 
fruit of their inventions will be protected. The competitiveness of 
European businesses depends on it.

Member States register each case with information per category 
of goods and per right-holder. For each category of goods and 
each right-holder a detention procedure will be initiated, which 
explains  why  there  are  more  procedures  than  cases.  Certain 
statistics,  e.g.  on  results,  product  category  or  involved  IP  right, 
are  given  per  procedure  instead  of  per  case  as  the  figure  can 
differ  per  procedure.  Other  statistics  remain  per  infringement 
case, e.g. customs procedures or transport mode as the figure is 
only relevant per case.

For many years, customs administrations in the Union have been 
known  for  their  high  standard  of  enforcement  of  IPR.  In  2016, 
customs authorities made over 63 000 detentions, consisting of 
a total of 41.3 million articles. The domestic retail value of the 
detained articles represented more than 672 million euros.

This report contains statistical information about the detentions 
made  under  customs  procedures  and  includes  data  on  the 
description, quantities and value of the goods, their provenance, 
the means of transport and the type of intellectual property right 
that may have been infringed.

Each detention is referred to as a ‘case’ that may contain one 
or  more  articles.  Each  case  may  contain  articles  of  different 
product categories and from different right-holders. In COPIS (1) 

The  statistics  are  established  by  the  Commission,  based  on 
the  data  transmitted  by  the  Member  State  administrations, 
in accordance with the relevant EU customs legislation. From 
1  January  2014,  Regulation  (EU)  No  608/2013  (2)  lays  down 
the provisions concerning customs enforcement of intellectual 
property  rights  including  provisions  for  submitting  relevant 
information by Member States to the Commission. 

The annual statistics provide useful information to support the 
analysis of IPR infringements in the EU and the development 
of  appropriate  counter-measures  by  customs.  Such  figures 
allow for a better understanding of the scope and extent of the 
problem.

(1)   COPIS is an EU-wide anti-Counterfeit and anti-Piracy Information System containing 

all applications for action and all detentions.

(2)   Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 

12 June 2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights and 
repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 (OJ L 181, 29.6.2013, p. 15).

5

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
3.  COOPERATION BETWEEN CUSTOMS AND RIGHT-HOLDERS

Right-holders may lodge an application for action requesting 
customs to take action in cases where a suspicion exists that 
an IPR is infringed. Applications for action can be requested 
on a national or on a Union basis and are valid for one year 
at a time. For risk assessment to function properly in the 
field of IPR protection, the importance of close cooperation 
between  customs  and  right-holders  and  of  the  quality  of 
information  given  by  right-holders  in  their  applications 
for action is recognised. The Commission, in collaboration 
with  the  Member  States,  has  established  a  manual  for 

right-holders  for  lodging  and  processing  applications  for 
action  (see  also  DG  TAXUD’s  website:  http://ec.europa.eu/
taxation_customs/customs/customs_controls/counterfeit_
piracy/right_holders/index_en.htm).

With the exception of 2014, when the new Regulation (EU) No 
608/2013 became applicable and all existing applications for 
action needed to be replaced, the number of applications for 
action  applicable  in  the  Member  States  has  shown  a  steady 
increase.

Thousands

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Year

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Applications

14 797

18 330

20 566

23 134

26 865

20 929

33 191

35 815

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Chart 1 - Number of applications 2009 - 2016

In  2016,  a  total  of  3  040  national  applications  for  action 
and  1  179  Union  applications  for  action  were  submitted  to 
the  customs  authorities.  As  a  Union  application  for  action 
concerns two or more Member States, it is counted as several 
applications, i.e. equal to the number of Member States where 
action is requested. As most Union applications for action were 
submitted for all Member States, it has led to a further increase 
with a total of 35 815 applications for action in 2016.

EU customs also have the power to act ex-officio if there is a 
suspicion of an IPR infringement. In such procedures, customs 
have  to  identify  the  right-holder  and  a  national  application 
must be submitted within 4 working days in order for customs 
to  be  able  to  continue  the  detention  or  suspension  of  the  
release of the goods. In line with previous years, the majority 
of customs actions were initiated with prior application by the 
right-holders. For several years now the percentage of ex-officio 
detentions has been stable around 2%.

100 %

80 %

60 %

40 %

20 %

0 %

96.94 %

97.55 %

97.38 %

98.27 %

97.97 %

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

application 

ex-officio

Chart 2 - Breakdown of cases by type of intervention

6

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 20164.  IPR DETENTIONS BY NUMBER OF CASES AND ARTICLES

The  total  number  of  cases  (each  case  representing  an 
interception by customs) went further down in 2016, with a 
decrease of 22% compared to 2015.

Each  case  covers  a  certain  amount  of  individual  articles 
that  can  vary  from  one  to  several  million  and  can  cover 
different  categories  of  goods  and  different  right-holders. 
The decrease in the number of cases has mainly occurred in 
the postal transport mode (see also chart 13 and annex 9). 
Although all transport sectors show a decrease in absolute 
number  of  cases,  we  can  see  a  shift  in  percentage  from 
postal  to  express  courier,  especially  in  relation  to  small 
consignments.

In  relation  to  the  categories  involved,  there  have  been  no 
major changes in the type of products detained compared 
to  last  year  (see  also  annex  3).  The  largest  decrease  of 
cases in absolute numbers is in the product categories of 
«handbags» and «shoes».

The  total  amount  of  articles  detained  has  again  shown  an 
increase  compared  to  the  previous  4  years,  with  41.3  million 
articles in 2016.

In Annex 4 an overview of the years 2012 to 2016 is given per 
category of goods. 

Thousands

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Chart 3 - Number of registered cases

Millions

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Chart 4 - Number of detained articles

Year

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Number of cases

43 572

79 112

91 254

90 473

86 854

95 194

81 098

63 184

Year

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Number of articles

117 959 298

103 306 928

114 772 812

39 917 445

35 940 294

35 568 982

40 728 675

41 387 132

7

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
There  have  been  significant  decreases  (>50%  decrease 
compared to 2015) in the number of articles detained in the 
following product categories: other body care items, sunglasses, 
handbags, other electronic equipment, games, sporting articles, 
other  tobacco  products,  medicines,  vehicles  accessories  and 
labels.

The  most  important  increases  (>50%  increase  compared  to 
2015) occurred in the following categories: foodstuffs, alcoholic 
beverages, computer equipment, toys and packaging material.

The top 10 Member States by number of cases accounted for 
88% of the overall number of cases and for 79% of the overall 
number of articles detained. Only four Member States appear in 
the ‘top 10’ in terms of number of cases and number of articles. 
See Annex 1 for more details.

35 %

30 %

25 %

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15 %

10 %

5%

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Chart 5 - Overview Member States in percentage of cases and articles

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REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
5.  RESULTS OF DETENTIONS

In  2016,  the  detention  of  goods  by  customs  resulted  in  the 
following:

 ‣  goods were destroyed under the standard procedure of Article 
23 of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 after confirmation of the 
right-holder and agreement of the holder of the goods;

Goods  that  appeared  to  be  non-infringing  original  goods  or 
for  which  the  right-holder  did  not  take  action  were  released 
from detention on the basis of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013. 
However, this does not exclude the possibility that these goods 
were  subsequently  detained  on  the  basis  of  other  legislation 
concerning prohibitions or restrictions.

 ‣  goods  were  destroyed  under  the  procedure  for  small 
consignments of Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 
after agreement of the holder of the goods;

 ‣  a court case was initiated by the right-holder to determine 

the infringement;

 ‣  goods were released as they appeared to be non-infringing 

original goods;

In  almost  90%  of  the  detentions,  the  goods  were  either 
destroyed  under  the  standard  procedure,  the  procedure  for 
small consignments or a court case was initiated to determine 
the infringement or as part of criminal procedures. In 6% of the 
procedures,  the  goods  were  released  because  no  action  was 
undertaken  by  the  right-holder  after  receiving  the  notification 
by  the  customs  authorities,  of  which  one  percentage  point 
concerned  ex-officio  procedures.  In  3.7%  of  the  detentions 
customs authorities released the goods because they appeared 
to be non-infringing original goods.

 ‣  goods were released because the right-holder did not react 

to the notification by customs;

In absolute numbers this gives the following results:

 ‣  a settlement out of court was reached between the right-
holder and the holder of the goods, after which the goods 
were released. 

Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 provides the applicant with the 
possibility to request the use of the procedure set out in Article 
26 of the Regulation, namely the destruction of goods trans-
ported in a small consignment without the need of notifying 
the right-holder for every shipment. This procedure leads on 
the one hand to a significant reduction of the administrative 
burden for customs authorities and right-holders and on the 
other hand to a more effective treatment of counterfeited or 
pirated goods transported by post or express courier. This pro-
cedure  is  limited  to  a  maximum  of  three  units  or  less  or  a 
gross weight of less than two kilograms per consignment. In 
30% of the applications for action the applicant had request-
ed  customs  authorities  to  apply  the  procedure  of  Article  26 
concerning the destruction of small consignments.

Number of procedures 

Number of articles 

77 705

41 387 132

Destruction of goods

41 004

27 107 818

Small consignment 

destruction

22 501

46 096

Court case initiated

6 264

4 606 438

No action undertaken:

on application for action

in ex-officio situation

Original goods

Settlement out of court

4 067

727

2 903

239

2 251 377

957 782

6 370 532

47 089

6.17 %

3.74 %

0.31 %

Destruction of goods

8.06 %

Small consignment destruction

Court case initiated

No action undertaken

Original goods

28.96 %

52.77 %

Settlement out of court

Chart 6 – Breakdown of result by procedure

9

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
6.  PRODUCT CATEGORIES

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Chart 7 – Top categories by articles

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In terms of numbers of detained articles, the top 3 categories 
are cigarettes, toys and foodstuff. The category ‘foodstuff’ has 
made an enormous jump from almost the last place to number 
three mainly because of large amounts of candy detained.

In terms of procedures, the top 3 categories remain almost 
the same as in 2015 namely sport shoes, clothing and non-
sport shoes. The top categories are typical goods to be ordered 
online and shipped via post or courier (see also Annex 11).

20 %

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REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Value
The  standard  value  for  reporting  by  Member  States  is  the 
domestic  retail  value  (DRV),  which  is  the  price  at  which  the 
goods  would  have  been  sold  at  retail  on  the  Member  State 
market, had they been genuine.

IPR infringing goods are increasingly sold at a price similar to 
that  of  the  original  goods  and  effectively  substitute  them  on 
the market, except for luxury goods. 

For procedural reasons, the same method of valuation is used 
for  all  product  sectors.  Therefore,  the  data  provides  a  broad  
figure of values, calculated on the basis of customs detentions. 
The  figures  do  not  measure  the  impact  on  the  EU  economy, 
nor  the  damage  caused  to  right-holders  by  the  trade  in  IPR 
infringing goods.

Based upon the DRV the top categories consist mainly of luxury 
goods such as watches, bags, wallets and purses but also toys 
appear in the top 3 (see Annex 2 for a complete overview of 
all categories).

18 %

16 %

14 %

12 %

10 %

8 %

6 %

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11

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7.  PROVENANCE

China  is  the  main  country  (i.e.  80%)  where  suspected  IPR 
infringing  goods  were  coming  from  at  the  moment  of  the 
detention,  and  which  were  not  released.  As  in  former  years, 
Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Turkey and India remain in the ‘top 
7’. Pakistan and Cambodia appear this year in the top 5 due to 
large detentions of cigarettes.

With regard to the countries of provenance in relation to value, 
the list of countries is partly identical to that of former years 
with  the  exception  of  the  United  Arab  Emirates,  which  re-
appeared again after 2012, and Pakistan.

A further breakdown according to each category of products is 
given in Annex 5.

Cambodia
1.50 %

Pakistan 1.71 %

Vietnam 1.71 %

Hong Kong,
China 7.79 %

Turkey
1.09 %

India
1.08 %

All other countries 
4.47 %

China 80.65 %

Pakistan 
0.77 %

India 
0.63 %

Unknown 
0.84 %

United Arab
Emirates 1.59 %

Turkey 2.52 %

Hong Kong,
China 16.17 %

All other countries 
6.40 %

China 72.21 %

Chart 10 - Country of provenance by articles

Chart 11 - Country of provenance by value

8.  FREIGHT/PASSENGER TRAFFIC

Cases  involving  passenger  traffic  relate  to  goods  brought 
into  the  EU  by  passengers  in  amounts  considered  to  be 
of  a  commercial  nature,  rather  than  for  private  use.  The 
ratio  between  the  numbers  of  cases  of  goods  suspected 
of  infringing  an  IP  right  found  in  freight  and  in  passenger 
respectively. 
traffic 

remains  around  98%  and  2% 

In  Annex  8  an  overview  is  given  of  the  main  categories  of 
products carried by passengers. Furthermore, overviews of the 
countries of provenance of the passengers are given in relation 
to articles, cases and value.

2.09 %

97.91 %

Freight

Passenger

Chart 12 - Breakdown of cases by type of traffic Freight / Passenger

12

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 20169.  TRANSPORT

Over the years postal, air and express transport have remained 
the  most  important  means  of  transport  in  number  of  cases 
detained,  whereas  sea  transport  by  container  is  the  main 
transport  modality  in  number  of  articles.  Notice  the  strong 
increase of articles detained in road transport. The increase in 

road and rail traffic must be seen in the light of the One Belt, 
One Road initiative where new trade roads emerge. A further 
breakdown can be found in Annexes 9 and 10. 

Thousands

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

air 

express 

post 

rail 

road 

sea

Chart 13 - Registered cases by means of transport

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Millions

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

air 

express 

post 

rail 

road 

sea

Chart 14 - Detained articles by means of transport 

13

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 201610.   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

As  in  previous  years,  the  majority  of  articles  (i.e.  92%  by 
number and 88% by value) detained by customs in 2016 were 
suspected of infringing a trademark, first Union (CTM) followed 
by international (ITM) and national (NTM) trademarks.

The  registered  Community  (CDR),  unregistered  Community 
(CDU), International (ICD) and national (ND) design and model 
rights  are  covering  higher  percentages  of  detentions  than  in 
2015  with  a  wide  variety  of  products  concerned  and  with 
an  emphasis  on  office  stationery,  toys,  items,  mobile  phone 
accessories, lighters and other body care articles.

With  regard  to  copyright  infringements  (NCPR),  the  product 
categories most concerned were toys, bags including wallets, 

purses  and  other  similar  goods,  mobile  phones  and  office 
stationery.

With  regard  to  suspicion  of  patent  infringements  (UPT/NPT/
SPCM), the main categories of products concerned were mobile 
phones, medicines, LED lights and laminate flooring.

With  regard  to  suspicion  of  plant  variety  right  infringements 
(CPVR),  the  involved  products,  namely  fruit,  belonged  to  the 
foodstuff category. 

In  2016,  the  detentions  related  to  geographical  indications 
concerned GIs for spirit drinks (CGIS).

CTM 

ITM 

NTM 

CDR 

ND 

CPVR 

UPT 

NPT 

NCPR 

SPCM 

ICD 

CDU 

CGIS 

CTM 

ITM 

CDR 

NTM 

UPT 

CGIS 

CDU 

SPCM 

ND 

NCPR 

ICD 

CPVR 

NPT 

61.44 %

17.68 %

13.19 %

3.35 %

2.12 %

0.62 %

0.59 %

0.27 %

0.22 %

0.21 %

0.13 %

0.10 %

0.06 %

66.00 %

17.82 %

7.63 %

4.94 %

1.23 %

0.78 %

0.56 %

0.25 %

0.20 %

0.20 %

0.17 %

0.10 %

0.07 %

Chart 15 - IP rights in percentage of articles

Chart 16 - IP rights in percentage of value

14

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 201611. CUSTOMS PROCEDURE

In  over  86%  of  all  cases,  customs  action  was  started  whilst 
the goods concerned were under an import procedure. In more 
than 11% of the cases, goods were discovered whilst being in 
transit with a destination in the Union and in 1% of the cases 
goods were under an (re-)export procedure with a destination 
outside  the  EU.  In  almost  1%  of  the  cases  goods  were  in 
transit/transhipment  with  a  destination  in  a  third  country. 

In  number  of  articles,  transit  and  transhipment  have  higher 
percentages because detentions in those procedures are often 
in sea and air traffic (with bigger shipments) while the largest 
part of cases in import procedures is related to postal traffic 
(see annex 9), where the amount of articles is of course much 
smaller.

Export 0.78 %

Warehouse  
1.09 %

Transhipment 
0.41 %

Transit  
0.40 %

Transit EU  
11.02 %

Import 86.30 %

Chart 17 - Breakdown of cases by customs procedure

Transit 7.82 %

Transhipment 
6.65 %

Export 0.56 %

Warehouse  
16.65 %

Import 52.78 %

Transit EU  
15.53 %

Chart 18 - Breakdown of articles by customs procedure

15

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 201616

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016ANNEXES

Annex 1  OVERVIEW OF CASES AND ARTICLES DETAINED PER MEMBER STATE

The evolution of the number of cases and number of articles detained per Member State - Period 2015 / 2016

Member State

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic 

Denmark

Germany

Estonia

Ireland

Greece

Spain

France

Croatia

Italy

Cyprus 

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxemburg

Hungary

Malta

Netherlands

Austria

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Slovakia

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Total

Number of cases

2016

19 137

436

656

2 541

19 045

268

1 729

109

2 778

1 269

1 192

3 278

89

778

591

295

330

87

314

2015

19 571

497

1 163

1 481

22 156

422

2 102

149

2 999

1 556

1 673

4 245

109

547

757

217

268

46

344

2 771

2 115

545

152

334

3 061

1 544

25

241

12 123

81 098

510

200

378

1 089

1 580

78

218

2 094

63 184

%

-2%

-12%

-44%

72%

-14%

-36%

-18%

-27%

-7%

-18%

-29%

-23%

-18%

42%

-22%

36%

23%

89%

-9%

-24%

-6%

32%

13%

-64%

2%

212%

-10%

-83%

-22%

Number of articles

2015

2016

504 130

4 287 417

1 282 130

638 248

515 105

4 621 189

%

750%

-50%

797%

51 021

1 101 242

2058%

4 905 936

5314%

2 302 444

3 386 892

25 536

18 001

177 227

12 826

6 375 856

2 966 330

1 893 019

1 737 103

6 331 378

1 960 705

306 000

744 099

2 096 910

1 006 661

35 661

89 976

90 618

33 622

18 130

243 018

64 432

67 379

74 204

1 256 131

2 604 260

5 120 665

2 202 371

44 832

1 074 941

352 405

77 741

383 615

855 617

4 693 180

3 660 196

3 213 513

1 289 689

90 103

4 805

58 246

84 546

18 191

211 410

2 850 004

2 004 588

40 728 675

41 387 132

47%

594%

-29%

-53%

-8%

-69%

143%

-52%

581%

-28%

100%

309%

107%

-57%

73%

-64%

143%

-22%

-60%

-6%

279%

263%

-30%

2%

17

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
Annex 2   BREAKDOWN OF NUMBER OF PROCEDURES, ARTICLES AND THE RETAIL VALUE  

PER PRODUCT SECTOR

Product sector

Number of procedures

Number od articles (*)

Retail value original goods

Foodstuffs, alcoholic and other beverages:

Foodstuffs

Alcoholic beverages

Other beverages

Body care items: 

Perfumes and cosmetics

Other body care items (razor blade, shampoo, deo-
dorant, toothbrush, soap, etc.)

Clothing and accessories: 

Clothing (ready to wear)

Clothing accessories (belt, tie, shawl, cap, gloves, etc.)

Shoes including parts and accessories: 

Sport shoes

Other shoes

Personal accessories: 

Sunglasses and other eye-glasses

Bags including wallets, purses, cigarette cases and 
other similar goods carried in the pocket/bag

Watches

Jewellery and other accessories

Mobile phones including parts and technical 
accessories:
Mobile phones

Parts and technical accessories for mobile phones

Electrical / electronic and computer equipment: 
Audio/video apparatus including technical accesso-
ries and parts
Memory cards, memory sticks

Ink cartridges and toners

Computer equipment (hardware) including technical 
accessories and parts
Other equipment including technical accessories and 
parts (household machines, shaver, hair straighter, etc.)

CD, DVD, cassette, game cartridges: 

Recorded (music, film, software, game software)

Unrecorded

Toys, games (including electronic game con-
soles) and sporting articles: 

Toys

Games (including electronic game consoles)

Sporting articles (including leisure articles)

Tobacco products: 

Cigarettes

Other tobacco products (cigars, cigarette paper, 
electronic cigarettes and refills, etc.)

1a

1b

1c

2a

2b

3a

3b

4a

4b

5a

5b

5c

5d

6a

6b

7a

7b

7c

7d

7e

8a

8b

9a

9b

9c

10a

10b

18

71

8

8

2 857

1 936

13 523

1 422

14 888

6 796

5 024

6 556

5 067

945

2 375

4 508

630

343

24

493

659

128

0

2 481

425

88

41

210

5 317 440

52 826

88 818

1 037 209

1 201 111

1 693 194

460 852

531 433

419 564

268 992

279 941

198 804

223 149

72 268

987 587

154 637

92 391

23 161

312 427

55 414

19 723

0

6 850 733

49 865

18 170

9 911 814

23 401

€ 877 607 

€ 9 713 217 

€ 51 444 

€ 55 104 254

€ 8 144 657

€ 44 887 870

€ 10 567 920

€ 46 173 653

€ 15 848 851

€ 33 758 948

€ 69 850 615

€ 109 754 626

€ 8 683 458

€ 18 451 832

21 035 402 €

€ 5 184 079

€ 1 023 530

€ 674 106

€ 2 814 727

€ 1 917 588

€ 1 347 887

€ 0   

€ 96 223 617

€ 22 884 011

€ 664 516

€ 37 128 404

€ 483 216

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Product sector

Number of procedures

Number od articles (*)

Retail value original goods

Medical products:

11

Medicines and other products (condoms)

1 968

392 037

€ 4 498 898

Other:

Machines and tools

Vehicles including accessories and parts

Office stationery

Lighters

Labels, tags, stickers

Textiles (towel, linen, carpet, mattress, etc.)

Packaging materials

Other goods

12a

12b

12c

12d

12e

12f

12g

12h

Total

105

1 374

173

14

508

244

473

1 340

77 705

94 948

155 844

592 636

163 059

1 259 192

123 274

4 778 521

3 482 697

€ 946 586

€ 4 267 411

€ 1 247 245

€ 6 368 216

€ 8 781 473

€ 1 919 430

€ 7 553 878

€ 14 065 929

41 387 132

€ 672 899 102 

(*) 

 The number of articles is counted as numbers of individual pieces unless otherwise specified. In case of articles traded in pairs like shoes, socks, gloves, etc. one pair is 
counted as one article.

(**)  The category 10a (cigarettes) is registered in packets of 20 pieces.

19

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Annex 3  OVERVIEW NUMBER OF CASES BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016 (PROCEDURES)

Thousands

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016

a
1

b
1

c
1

a
2

b
2

a
3

b
3

a
4

b
4

a
5

b
5

c
5

d
5

a
6

b
6

a
7

b
7

c
7

d
7

e
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a
8

b
8

a
9

b
9

c
9

a
0
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b
0
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1
1

a
2
1

b
2
1

c
2
1

d
2
1

e
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1

f
2
1

g
2
1

h
2
1

Annex 4  OVERVIEW NUMBER OF ARTICLES BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016

Millions

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016

a
1

b
1

c
1

a
2

b
2

a
3

b
3

a
4

b
4

a
5

b
5

c
5

d
5

a
6

b
6

a
7

b
7

c
7

d
7

e
7

a
8

b
8

a
9

b
9

c
9

a
0
1

b
0
1

1
1

a
2
1

b
2
1

c
2
1

d
2
1

e
2
1

f
2
1

g
2
1

h
2
1

20

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
Annex 5  OVERVIEW PER PRODUCT SECTOR OF COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE

Product Sector

Number of articles, not released, in % according to country of provenance

Foodstuffs, alcoholic and other beverages:

1a

1b

1c

Foodstuffs

Alcoholic beverages

Other beverages

Body care items:

2a

Perfumes and cosmetics

2b

3a

3b

4a

4b

Other body care items (razor blade, shampoo, deodorant, 
toothbrush, soap, etc.)

Clothing and accessories:

Clothing (ready to wear)

Clothing accessories (belt, tie, shawl, cap, gloves, etc.)

Shoes including parts and accessories:

Sport shoes

Other shoes

Personal accessories:

China 94.16%

Hong Kong, China 3.26%

Bulgaria 1.26% (export)

Singapore 89.29% Bulgaria 10.71% (export)

-

Bulgaria 81.25%

Nigeria 15.52%

China 3.23%

China 68.45%

China 47.93%

Hong Kong, China 

United Arab Emirates 

22.06%

5.29%

Hong Kong, China 

United Arab Emirates 

17.36%

15.47%

China 58.04%

Turkey 12.40%

Bangladesh 6.55%

Islamic Republic of Iran 

43.52%

China 42.31%

Hong Kong, China 5.32%

China 78.96%

Germany 5.36%

Hong Kong, China 4.37%

China 65.75%

Malaysia 15.54%

United Kingdom 8.67%

5a

Sunglasses and other eye-glasses

China 78.62%

Hong Kong, China 8.62%

British Virgin Islands 

5.03% 

5b

Bags including wallets, purses, cigarette cases and other 

similar goods carried in the pocket/bag

5c

Watches

5d

Jewellery and other accessories

Mobile phones including parts and technical accessories:

6a

Mobile phones

6b

Parts and technical accessories for mobile phones 

Electrical / electronic and computer equipment:

7a

Audio/video apparatus including technical accessories and 
parts

7b

Memory cards, memory sticks

7c

Ink cartridges and toners

7d

Computer equipment (hardware) including technical 
accessories and parts

China 82.79%

Hong Kong, China 4.30%

Greece 3.86%

China 62.58%

China 61.09%

Hong Kong, China 

Islamic Republic of Iran 

21.11%

9.15%

Hong Kong, China 

30.00%

Thailand 3.48%

China 53.01%

Hong Kong, China 

51.10%

China 77.52%

China 54.92%

China 70.88%

China 60.06%

Hong Kong, China 

British Virgin Islands 

31.84%

4.73%

China 46.61%

Hong Kong, China 

21.47%

Hong Kong, China 

43.72%

-

-

-

Hong Kong, China 

United Arab Emirates 

11.67%

9.75%

Hong Kong, China 

36.84%

Greece 1.60%

21

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Product Sector

Number of articles, not released, in % according to country of provenance

7e

Other equipment including technical accessories and parts 
(household machines, shaver, hair straighter, etc.)

China 83.32%

Hong Kong, China 

14.23%

Turkey 1.39%

-

-

-

-

CD, DVD, cassette, game cartridges:

8a

Recorded (music, film, software, game software)

Hong Kong, China 

China 14.73%

8b

Unrecorded

Toys, games (including electronic game consoles) and sporting articles:

85.14%

-

-

Toys

China 96.61%

Hong Kong, China 2.07%

Games (including electronic game consoles)

China 51.43%

Hong Kong, China 

47.65%

9a

9b

9c

Sporting articles (including leisure articles)

China 63.33%

India 31.79%

Hong Kong, China 4.18%

Tobacco products:

10a

Cigarettes

China 74.92%

Vietnam 8.74%

Cambodia 7.73%

10b

Other tobacco products (cigars, cigarette paper, electronic 
cigarettes and refills, etc.)

China 63.62%

Hong Kong, China 

32.72%

Malaysia 1.83%

Medical products:

11

Medicines and other products (condoms)

India 62.60%

China 15.70%

Germany 10.43%

Other:

12a

Machines and tools

China 96.37%

Hong Kong, China 3.58%

-

12b

Vehicles including accessories and parts

12c

Office stationery

12d

Lighters

12e

Labels, tags, stickers

Hong Kong, China 

45.28%

China 98.89%

China 99.99%

China 50.55%

China 41.87%

Greece 3.54%

-

-

-

-

Hong Kong, China 

28.68%

Senegal 7.02%

12f

Textiles (towel, linen, carpet, mattress, etc.)

China 67.91%

Estonia 18.69% (export)

Pakistan 5.14%

12g

Packaging materials

China 81.19%

Hong Kong, China 
17.70%

-

12h

Other goods

China 91.20%

Hong Kong, China 3.93%

Japan 1.41%

Total

China 80.65%

Hong Kong, China 

7.79%

Vietnam 1.71%

22

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Annex 6  TOP 3 COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE BY NUMBER OF ARTICLES

1. China

Toys

Cigarettes

Foodstuff

Packaging materials

Other goods

Clothing (ready to wear)

Perfumes and cosmetics

Labels, tags, stickers

Office stationery

Other shoes

2. Hong Kong, China

Packaging materials

Parts and technical accessories for mobile phones

Labels, tags, stickers

Perfumes and cosmetics

Foodstuff

Toys

Other goods

Number of articles

% of total

5 607 185

4 605 334

4 448 041

3 199 423

2 712 079

763 500

639 467

534 956

504 445

397 729

22%

18%

17%

13%

11%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

Total

25 501 475

Number of articles

% of total

697 674

388 663

303 546

206 092

154 080

119 965

116 779

92 519

47 770

42 663

28%

16%

12%

8%

6%

5%

5%

4%

2%

2%

Other body care items (razor blade, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, 
soap, etc.)

Clothing (ready to wear)

Jewellery and other accessories

3. Vietnam

Cigarettes

Total

2 467 928

Number of articles

% of total

Total

537 000

540 724

99%

23

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Annex 7  TOP 3 COUNTRIES OF PROVENANCE BY VALUE (EQUIVALENT DRV)

1. China

Toys

Value % of total

€   82 338 181 

Bags including wallets, purses, other similar goods carried in the pocket/bag

€   52 495 580 

Perfumes and cosmetics

Watches

Sport shoes

Sunglasses and other eye-glasses

Games (including electronic game consoles)

Cigarettes

Clothing (ready to wear)

Other shoes

€   45 504 778 

€   43 809 582 

€   37 443 727 

€   25 824 126 

€   21 951 263 

€   20 610 959 

€   17 907 769 

€   10 288 764 

Total

€ 417 163 227

2. Hong Kong, China

Watches 

Value % of total

€    49 187 216 

53%

Parts and technical accessories for mobile phones

€      8 763 919 

Bags including wallets, purses, other similar goods carried in the pocket/bag

€      5 385 583 

Labels, tags, stickers

Mobile phones

Clothing (ready to wear)

Sunglasses and other eye-glasses

Sport shoes

Clothing accessories (belt, tie, shawl, cap, gloves, etc.)

€      5 168 017 

€      3 143 772 

€      2 836 825 

€      2 587 147 

€      2 479 714 

€      1 417 315 

Other body care items (razor blade, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, soap, etc.)

€      1 402 214 

Total

€    93 299 738 

9%

6%

6%

3%

3%

3%

3%

2%

2%

3. Turkey

Clothing (ready to wear)

Watches

Value % of total

€     5 795 413 

€     2 477 991 

Bags including wallets, purses, other similar goods carried in the pocket/bag

€     1 678 210 

Jewellery and other accessories

Clothing accessories (belt, tie, shawl, cap, gloves, etc.)

Other shoes

Sport shoes

Other goods

Perfumes and cosmetics

€     1 276 131 

€        710 117 

€        597 839 

€        538 307 

€        489 335 

€        336 345 

Total

€   14 531 270 

24

20%

13%

11%

11%

9%

6%

5%

5%

4%

2%

40%

17%

12%

9%

5%

4%

4%

3%

2%

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
Annex 8  OVERVIEW PASSENGER TRAFFIC

Overview of articles carried by passengers

Countries of provenance in % of articles 

22.86 %

29.88 %

1.85 %

2.26 %

1.79 %

16.20 %

4.94 %

7.70 %

8.99 %

9.29 %

16.34 %

Clothing

Jewellery

Perfumes/cosmetics

Watches

Sunglasses

Sport shoes

All other categories

47.68 %

18.58 %

Turkey

China

Morocco

Senegal

Ukraine

United Arab 
Emirates

Countries of provenance in % of value

Countries of provenance in % of cases 

6.11 %

7.93 %

25.33 %

6.96 %

4.02 %

3.51 %

29.60 %

9.15 %

14.83 %

Turkey

China

Morocco

24.43 %

Portugal

Switzerland

United Arab 
Emirates

13.19 %

Turkey

China

Morocco

23.12 %

Senegal

Italy

United Arab 
Emirates

25

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 9  MEANS OF TRANSPORT IN RELATION TO NUMBER OF CASES, ARTICLES AND RETAIL VALUE

Cases

air

2012

%

2013

%

2014

%

2015

%

2016

%

16 754

18.52

15 040

17.32

13 166

13.83

14 970

18.46

14 166

22.42

express

7 936

8.77

7 390

8.51

4 117

4.33

5 418

6.68

5 241

8.29

post

rail

road

sea

55 933

61.82

55 588

64.00

73 299

77.00

57 185

70.51

41 236

65.26

3

6 156

3 690

0.00

6.80

4.08

26

4 990

3 821

0.03

5.75

4.40

11

1 812

2 789

0.01

1.90

2.93

2

1 073

2 450

0.00

1.32

3.02

11

667

1 863

0.02

1.06

2.95

Articles

2012

%

2013

%

2014

%

2015

%

2016

%

air

5 776 904

14.47

3 890 652

10.83

4 602 394

12.94

4 865 259

11.95

4 579 276

11.06

express

1 983 909

4.97

4 089 450

11.38

1 491 103

1 071 351

2.68

1 110 563

372

0.00

59 886

3.09

0.17

807 249

303 000

7 684 551

19.25

4 283 598

11.92

3 480 222

4.19

2.27

0.85

9.79

2 199 781

5.40

2 228 095

5.38

893 059

2.19

911 327

2.20

21

0.00

14 718

0.04

2 647 606

6.50

5 910 245

14.28

23 400 358

58.62

22 506 145

62.62

24 885 014

69.96

30 122 949

73.96

27 743 471

67.03

post

rail

road

sea

Value €

2012

%

2013

%

2014

%

2015

%

2016

%

air

€ 139 394 561

15.54

€    84 100 278

10.95

€ 107 346 976

17.40

€ 118 845 943

18.51

€ 186 154 982

27.66

express

€ 42 600 559

4.75

€    43 092 557

5.61

€   51 066 014

8.28

€   87 155 307

13.57

€   51 569 585

7.66

post

rail

road

sea

€ 106 010 670

11.82

€    70 284 640

9.15

€   49 990 683

8.10

€   57 790 226

9.00

€   47 234 053

7.02

€ 167 934

0.02

€      1 016 873

0.13

€     1 616 411

0.26

€     4 500

0.00

€        709 437

0.11

€ 107 578 619

11.99

€    61 949 331

8.06

€   89 665 985

14.53

€   52 852 967

8.23

€   14 923 271

2.22

€ 501 139 444

55.88

€  507 784 250

66.10

€ 317 360 268

51.43

€ 325 459 380

50.69

€ 372 307 775

55.33

26

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016Annex 10 

OVERVIEW MEANS OF TRANSPORT

Cases by means of  transport 

Articles by means of  transport 

Road 
1.06 %

Sea 2.95 %

Air 22.42 %

Rail 0.02 %

Post 65.26 %

Express courier
8.29 %

Sea 67.03 %

Air 11.06 %

Express courier 5.38 %

Post 2.20 %
Rail 0.04 %

Road 14.28 %

Value by means of  transport 

Air 27.66 %

Sea 55.33 %

Express courier
7.66 %

Post 7.02 %

Rail 0.13 %

Road 2.22 %

27

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Annex 11 

OVERVIEW POSTAL TRAFFIC

Number of procedures in % in postal traffic 

Number of articles in % in postal traffic 

6.02 %

8.11 %

26.05 %

8.94 %

11.06%

13.72 %

Sport shoes

Sunglasses

Clothing

Bags and leather 
goods

Non-sport shoes

Watches

4.14 %

3.64 %

31.34 %

8.15 %

13.44 %

16.98 %

Packaging material

Mobile phone 
accessories

Medicines

Labels, tags,
stickers

Toys

Clothing

Top 5 countries of provenance in % cases 

Top 5 countries of provenance in % articles

3.13 %

1.95 %

3.77 %

7.07 %

72.22 %

4.71 %

3.43 %

7.18 %

23.13 %

56.55 %

China

Hong Kong,
China

Singapore

Unknown

Germany

Germany

Singapore

China

Hong Kong,
China

India

28

REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016REPORT ON EU CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – RESULTS AT THE EU BORDER 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Getting in touch with the EU

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address of the centre nearest you at: http://europa.eu/contact

ON THE PHONE OR BY E-MAIL
Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this 
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– at the following standard number: +32 22999696 or 

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Report on EU customs