TrendsOnFire  /  Finance & Compliance
Finance & Compliance Intelligence

Brand Protection, Anti-Counterfeiting & Compliance

Where the fakes come from, who loses, and what enforcement actually works — intelligence on the industries most exposed to counterfeiting risk.

Updated 14 April 2026

Published Reports

Published Report
Global Counterfeiting Intelligence — European Market Focus
Which sectors are most exposed, where counterfeits originate, how enforcement is evolving, and what brand protection strategies actually work at scale.
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Published Report
The 2026 Fragility Thesis — Five Signals the Eurozone Is Entering Strain
Inflation reversed in Q1. Consumer confidence is at a 2.5-year low. The US tariff ceiling is at 15%. The ECB has paused. Five sourced signals all pointing the same direction, and three scenarios for 2026–2027.
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Trend Intelligence

Counterfeiting
Global trade in counterfeits reached $467 billion — 2.3% of world imports
The OECD (2025) estimates counterfeit and pirated goods at $467B (2021 data). The EU loses €60B annually across 13 sectors (EUIPO). Clothing, pharma, and electronics are hardest hit. Sources: OECD, EUIPO via INTA
Brand Protection
E-commerce platforms have become a primary distribution channel for fakes
The OECD (2021) documents how e-commerce platforms provide powerful storefronts for counterfeiters. Brand protection has shifted from customs enforcement to digital takedown operations — requiring new capabilities, data, and platform partnerships. Source: OECD
IP Enforcement
EU customs seized a record 152 million counterfeit items in 2023
EU Customs Report 2023: 152M items worth €3.4B seized — a 77% increase over 2022. China accounts for 56% of seizures, followed by Hong Kong (~9%) and Turkey (~8%). Source: EU Customs
Regulation
EU General Product Safety Regulation reshaping brand protection obligations
The GPSR (Regulation 2023/988), effective December 2024, extends obligations for product safety to online marketplaces. Brands and enforcement organisations now have new leverage to compel platforms to act on counterfeit listings. Source: EUR-Lex — GPSR
Technology
Digital authentication methods are evolving anti-counterfeiting enforcement
Image recognition, NFC authentication, and serialisation technologies complement traditional enforcement. The EU Falsified Medicines Directive already mandates 2D barcode serialisation on all prescription medicines since February 2019. Source: EC — Falsified Medicines
NGO & Industry
Anti-counterfeiting organisations coordinate enforcement across 130+ countries
Not-for-profit organisations bridge brand owners and enforcement authorities. React (founded 1991, Amsterdam) operates in 130+ countries. ACG represents 3,000+ brands from the UK. INTA has 6,600+ member organisations across 182 countries. Sources: React, ACG, INTA
About the Author

TrendsOnFire is a AI based market intelligence platform publishing analysis on retail, technology, supply chain, finance, compliance, education, people and transformation trends across Europe.

Created by Olga Bressers, a senior executive with experience in sales & digital operations, ecommerce, omni-channel retail, supply chain, programs management and business transformation.

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