Report on EU customs enforcement of intellectual property rights : results at the EU border - 2011

The annual publication of the results of customs actions on IPR enforcement provides an opportunity to take stock of the important work customs administrations are doing at the EU external borders. A robust system of IPR protection is a key component of the EU's strategy for smart and sustainable growth. IPR give an incentive to be creative and innovative and they represent core assets for citizens and companies. Theft of intellectual property is a serious crime and in 2011, customs authorities again increased the number of detentions to more than 91.000 cases with a total of almost 115 million articles involved. The domestic retail value of these IPR infringing articles represented over 1.2 billion 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 has been infringed. The statistics are established by the European Commission, based on the data transmitted by the EU Member States, in accordance with the EU's relevant customs legislation.