Anyone who buys counterfeit branded goods can expect large fines. They can be imposed both in the country where they were purchased and in their homeland. Practice has shown that most replicas are bought during the summer holidays, the German channel ARD pointed out in its material.
„In Mallorca, in the fight against illegal street trading, where many counterfeit products are distributed, buyers are now also being punished. There was even a case where a fine of EUR 750 was imposed for buying sunglasses from a street vendor“, announced the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). In addition to Spain, Italy is also now imposing large fines on buyers of pirated products.
„The trade in counterfeit goods harms the original manufacturers, costs jobs and sometimes even endangers the health of consumers“, explained DPMA President Eva Cheviot. „And in many cases, counterfeit goods are spread by criminal networks. Anyone who buys them supports organized crime”.
In Europe's largest economy, Germany, 16,857 illegal goods were seized in 2024. Nearly two-thirds of them originated in China.
The value of goods seized in Germany last year was EUR 417 million - more than twice as much as the previous year (EUR 202 million). Almost 66% of the counterfeit products came from China, 12% from Turkey, 7% from Hong Kong and 3% from Poland.
Intellectual property crimes will be the subject of even greater attention from police, customs and the judiciary across Europe in the future – as part of the EU's new plan to combat economic and financial crime, the DPMA announced. “Take your holiday without counterfeits“, the DPMA president urged holidaymakers.