While many EU consumers travel more during the summer months they tend to bring souvenirs back home. Maybe that is the reason why EU Customs publishes its yearly reports on counterfeit products during the summer holidays. (see last year's EU helps to keep it real) Last year almost 40 million products were detained on EU borders under suspicion of violating IP rights (last year it was 115 million products, but while less products were stopped from entering the EU this year their value didn't change much from 1,3 billion to 1 billion euro). This time it was mostly cigarettes that were intercepted (medicines two years ago), followed by miscellaneous goods (e.g., batteries, washing powder), and packaging material. Most of the detained goods arrived in the EU through postal and courier packages. China still remains the main source of fake goods. (Custom detain 1 billion euro worth of fake goods at EU borders in 2012) (FAQ)
