More than 196 million counterfeit items, worth an estimated EUR 6.3 billion, were detained in the European Union in 2025. That is the highest count EU enforcement authorities have ever reported, according to a joint report from the EUIPO and the European Commission’s tax and customs directorate, DG TAXUD.
The jump is steep: 67% above 2024 and 29% above the previous record, set in 2023. The figures cover both the EU’s external border and the internal market.
What was seized
Recorded CDs and DVDs topped the list for the year, close to 30% of all seizures. The category takes in music and film releases, TV box sets, retro games and application software. Toys made up almost one in five items.
The large number of labels, tags and stickers caught the report’s attention. They can be used to finish counterfeit goods, which suggests some products are completed inside the EU. Games, including electronic consoles, clothing and cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping devices among them, also turned up often.
Where and which rights
Inside the internal market, Italy alone accounted for more than 70% of detentions. France followed at 6.2% and the Netherlands at 4.8%. Trade marks were the right most often infringed, at 57%, then copyright at 43% and designs at 7%.
At the EU border, Romania recorded 43% of detained articles, ahead of Bulgaria and Italy. By value the picture changes: Spain represented more than half of the estimated worth of intercepted goods, with Germany next.
The report ties the record to growing volumes of goods entering the EU, fragmented supply chains, varied transport methods and the growth of e-commerce, all of which make fakes harder to spot and stop.
What the EUIPO does
The agency takes part in the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats, known as EMPACT, where it leads, co-leads or works alongside national authorities in up to 10 operational actions against IP crime. It also runs the IP Enforcement Portal, where rights holders pass information to enforcement authorities to help them identify counterfeits.
A recent case is Joint Action Day Pirates 4, an EMPACT operation that led to the seizure of more than 1.7 million counterfeit and undeclared items across Europe. The EUIPO gave on-the-ground technical help on IP infringement questions during the action. The next IPEP Forum, on cooperation in IP enforcement, is set for 24 and 25 November.
