Counterfeit products reached record figures in both quantity and value last year. "For years, counterfeits and other infringements of brand rights have increasingly moved online, so the importance of online monitoring for brand owners and systematic enforcement will continue to grow," says our lawyer, Maria Puronvarsi.

In October 2025, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) released a report, containing the latest statistics on counterfeit products, based on data provided by police, customs, and market surveillance authorities.

According to the report, approximately 112 million counterfeit items were detained at the EU border and within the EU internal market, with an estimated value exceeding 3.8 billion euros ― the highest recorded to date.

About 74% of the items were CDs/DVDs and software products, toys, clothing, clothing accessories, cigarettes and e-cigarettes, perfumes, and cosmetics. China remains the predominant country of origin in terms of number of articles detained, followed by Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. Approximately 90% of the volume and value of products infringing intellectual property rights were seized in seven EU member states.

What tools do brand owners have to fight against counterfeit products?

The importance of a brand rights strategy is emphasized

According to Maria, it is crucial for companies to have a brand right strategy in place, where they have already thought about and agreed how to monitor and enforce their brand rights.

"The importance of a strategy is also highlighted in the fight against counterfeits. It is essential that companies have a brand right strategy where they have already decided in advance how to monitor their brand rights and how to enforce them. For years, counterfeit products and brand rights infringements have increasingly moved online, so online monitoring and actively reacting to online infringements is more important than ever for brand owners,” Maria says.

It is important to conduct market watch and competitor monitoring by the company's own personnel and cooperation partners. To make monitoring more efficient, it is advisable to use external IP expert services as support, especially for monitoring trademark and domain name registries, online platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba etc, as well as online content and social media channels.

IP law firms such as Kaulo & Partners have powerful software tools at their disposal to detect infringements as early and comprehensively as possible.

Customs surveillance is important in the fight against counterfeits

For many global brands, counterfeits are a major problem. They damage the original brand's reputation with low-quality products that may even be dangerous or harmful to health and life. The scale of the problem is evident from the fact that counterfeits are the second-largest illegal revenue source globally, right after drug sales.

Counterfeits are also one form of brand right infringement. They aim to give the impression of being genuine products and deceive consumers and other target groups.

For brand owners, one important way to combat counterfeiting is through customs surveillance. When a brand owner has a valid customs surveillance agreement, the custom authority in each country can stop at the border products that it suspects are counterfeit. If this is the case, the products can be effectively destroyed before they reach the commercial market.

"We actively engage in this anti-counterfeit work at Kaulo & Partners as representatives of brand owners operating on global markets in Finland. We assist with customs surveillance matters, local market watch, and all legal actions related to counterfeits."

We represent the world's leading brand owners

REACT – The Anti-Counterfeiting Network is an international community fighting counterfeits, with members including the world's leading brand owners. Currently, it has about 350 brand owners as members who have joined forces to combat counterfeits and infringements of their brand rights.

REACT provides brand owners with an effective channel to address brand right infringements in different countries through REACT's local partner network. Kaulo & Partners is the official partner of REACT in Finland. As a REACT partner, we help the world's leading brand owners fight against counterfeits.

Our anti-counterfeit measures, in addition to customs surveillance, include investigation and market watch related to various stores, shops, events, and Finnish online auction sites and online stores, as well as test purchases to identify counterfeits. In cases of brand right infringements, we send cease-and-desist letters to infringers to remove counterfeits from the market. If necessary, we defend our clients' brand rights in the Finnish courts.