Counterfeiting & Piracy

Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods

Apart from narcotics trafficking, counterfeiting and piracy account for the largest economic value of all forms of illicit trade. The problem has intensified to staggering levels. The OECD reported a 154% increase in counterfeit trade globally, from $200 billion in 2005 to $509 billion in 2016. US Customs data from 2000 to 2018 shows a tenfold rise in seizures of infringing goods, from 3,244 to 33,810. Up to 5% of goods imported into the EU are counterfeit, with China being the top producer (OECD & EUIPO, 2016). This widespread issue diverts profits and tax revenues to the underground economy, jeopardizing the economy and consumer safety.

Counterfeiting and piracy occur across multiple industry sectors and can extend to other and similar problems. For example, unbranded petroleum products and substandard pharmaceuticals may be considered fakes, but may not necessarily encompass an intellectual property (IP) infringement. Digital illicit trade, such as cybercrimes and money laundering, also facilitates piracy. These activities distort competition, impacting local and international brands. Businesses face various costs, including loss of market share, supply chain monitoring, regulatory compliance, consumer safety liability, reputational risks, and increased security and insurance expenses

Featured reports

Fraudulent Advertising Online: Emerging Risks and Consumer Fraud

This report from TRACIT and the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) shows that 70 major international brands were targeted by fraudulent advertisements on Instagram and Facebook since 2017. The lack of sufficient policies and procedures to verify an advertiser’s true identity and limited vetting during the onboarding process are identified as the main vulnerabilities that enable fraudulent advertising online. The full report is available here.

Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The TRACIT report Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the Sustainable Development Goals investigates illicit trade in 12 key sectors that participate significantly in international trade and are most vulnerable to illicit trade. For each sector, the negative impacts of illicit trade are mapped against the 17 UN SDGs. The full report is available here.

Read the chapter: SDGs and illicit trade in counterfeit and pirated goods

Important iniciatives

The Underground World of Fake Football Shirts

A new investigation by The Athletic exposes the massive global market for counterfeit Premier League football shirts, highlighting alarming implications far beyond the financial losses. Featuring insights from Dr. Ulrika Bonnier, TRACIT Director of Programs, the report reveals the hidden consequences of fake merchandise, including links to organized crime, human trafficking, and dangerous working conditions. Purchasing counterfeit merchandise, the report emphasizes, is far from victimless and carries significant economic and social consequences.

Read the full story on The Athletic
Listen to the podcast episode here.

Buy Safe America Coalition: TRACIT participates in the Buy Safe America Coalition

TRACIT is part of the Buy Safe America coalition, a diverse group of responsible retailers, consumer groups, manufacturers, intellectual property advocates and law enforcement officials who support efforts at all levels of government to protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods. The coalition supports federal and state enforcement of new law that requires online marketplaces to collect and verify basic information of third parties who sell products on their platforms. Visit the Coalition here.

U.S. Awareness Campaign: USPTO introduces "Go For Real" awareness campaign

The USPTO and NCPC are working together to raise public awareness about the importance of intellectual property and to decrease demand for counterfeit goods in the United States. The Campaign aims to increase the desire to buy genuine goods, raise awareness of the damage caused by counterfeits, change attitudes and change counterfeit buying behaviors by educating young consumers on how to identify and avoid counterfeit goods. Visit the campaign website here.

UK IPO Counterfeit Goods Research: New Report on Consumer Perspectives

While considerable evidence exists on the topic, to enable the IPO to effectively achieve its aims, the organisation has identified a need for more consistent research on consumers in relation to the purchasing of counterfeit physical goods.
Visit the portal here.

U.S. CBP Anti-Counterfeiting Portal: Includes Mechanism to Report Counterfeits

The dangers of buying counterfeit products aren’t always obvious. There are economic impacts, legal implications, and health and safety risks that are important for you to know before you buy. When traveling, buy from reputable sources.
Visit the portal here.

Counterfeit Garments: Non-Compliance with Health and Safety Norms

The report presents findings from testing of counterfeit garments to assess their compliance with health and safety norms. It aims to create awareness among consumers that buying counterfeit garments can
be detrimental to their health.
Find the report here

Featured events

TRACIT highlights negative impacts of counterfeiting on human rights, sustainable development and inward investment at WIPO

2 February 2024, Geneva -During the Sixteenth Session of WIPO's Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE), TRACIT organized a side event to underscore the detrimental effects of counterfeiting. The discussion focused on how illicit trade undermines human rights, sustainable development, and inward investment. Panelists from national governments, intergovernmental organizations, and the private sector shared insights and examples, emphasizing the urgency of addressing IPR infringements to support global development and investment goals.

Background material: Investigating the societal costs of IP infringement Negative impacts on human rights, sustainable development and inward investment

Amanda Lotheringen, Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), South Africa, Robi Mbugua Njoroge King’a,, Anti- Counterfeit Authority (ACA), Kenya, Jeffrey Hardy, TRACIT Director-General.

TRACIT Talking Points

Legislation and cross agency, cross border, public/private sector cooperation and enforcement is critical to stopping trade in counterfeits

Learn more about the benefits of the SHOP SAFE Act

At its core, the Shop Safe Act holds online marketplaces accountable for screening third-party sellers, disclosing more information about the seller to online shoppers, removing counterfeit and stolen product listings, and barring bad actors from selling on their platforms – consumer protections that have all been missing for far too long.

Shop safe act of 2023: Text
Shop safe: One pager
Shop safe: The facts
Shop safe act: Fact sheet
Shop safe act: FAQ

Press Releases

Fact Sheets

Media center

Learn how counterfeit and piracy impacts the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

From smuggling, counterfeiting and tax evasion, to the illegal sale or possession of goods, services, humans and wildlife, illicit trade is compromising the attainment of the UN SDGs in significant ways, crowding out legitimate economic activity, depriving governments of revenues for investment in vital public services, dislocating millions of legitimate jobs and causing irreversible damage to ecosystems and human lives.

The TRACIT report Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the Sustainable Development Goals investigates illicit trade in 12 key sectors that participate significantly in international trade and are most vulnerable to illicit trade. For each sector, the negative impacts of illicit trade are mapped against the 17 UN SDGs. The full report is available here.

Read the chapter: SDGs and illicit trade in counterfeit and pirated goods

Tracit policy positions

Recent

Submission to USTR Notorious Markets List 2026.
October 2026.

TRACIT submission to EU consultation on Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.
September 2026.

Submission to the USPTO's Request for Comments on the OECD's Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces.
August 2025

eCommerce and Fraudulent Advertising TRACIT Principles & Positions.
January 2021

Examples of Counterfeit Products with Health and Safety Implications,
September 2021.

Why critical consumer and IP protections are needed now,
June, 2022.

United States

TRACIT letter supporting introduction of the SHOP SAFE Act.
June 2024.

TRACIT media release supporting the introduction of the SHOP SAFE Act.
June 2024.

TRACIT Statement to the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
May 2024.

TRACIT welcomes USTR 2023 Notorious Markets Report
January 2024.

Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing: Back to School with the SHOP SAFE Act: Protecting Our Families from Unsafe Online Counterfeits.
October 2023.

TRACIT letter to Senators Coons and Tills in support of the proposed SHOP SAFE Act
October 2023.

Submission to USTR Notorious Markets List 2023.
October 2023.

USPTO: future Strategies in Anticounterfeiting and Antipiracy.
August 2023.

Informing Businesses about the INFORM Consumers Act.
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

FTC Puts Online Marketplaces on Notice About Their Responsibilities Under the New INFORM Consumers Act.
June 2023.

Letter to FTC Chair Khan on the importance of enforcing the INFORM Consumers Act (INFORM).
June 2023.

Letter to FTC Commissioner Bedoya on the importance of enforcing the INFORM Consumers Act (INFORM).
June 2023.

Letter to FTC Commissioner Slaughter on the importance of enforcing the INFORM Consumers Act (INFORM). June 2023.

Submission to Senate Committee on Finance Hearing.
March 2023.

Senate Finance Committee hearing: Ending Trade that Cheats American Workers by Modernizing Trade Laws and Enforcement, Fighting Forced Labor, Eliminating Counterfeits and Leveling the Playing Field.
February 2023.

Submission to USTR Notorious Markets List
October 2022.

Correcting the facts on Shop Safe
June 2022.

Why critical consumer and IP protections are needed now
June 2022.

Multi-Association letter in support of the SHOP SAFE Act and the INFORM Consumers Act
December 2021.

Multi-Association letter in support of the (House & Senate SHOP SAFE Act
June 2021.

TRACIT written statement on the House SHOP SAFE Act
May 2021.

TRACIT letter to sponsors of the INFORM Act
May 2021.

TRACIT letter to sponsors of the INFORM Act
April 2021.

Multi-Association Letter to US President Biden on IP issues and appointments, February 2021.

TRACIT response to US PTO Call for Comment on the Issue of Secondary Trademark Infringement Liability in the E-Commerce Setting,
January 2021.

TRACIT Submission to USTR 2020 Notorious Markets List,
November 2020.

TRACIT endorses INFORM Consumers Act, Supports legislative measures to improve verification of online suppliers.
July 2020.

TRACIT Letter to US Senator Grassley, supporting his outreach to Vice President Pence,
May 2020.

TRACIT letter to U.S. Vice President Pence, encouraging diligence to fighting counterfeiting online, (Co-signed).
April 2020.

WHOIS Submission to the ICANN EPDP (co-signed)
April 2020.

TRACIT Statement on Fake and Unsafe Products on Online Marketplaces to US House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection.
March 2020.

TRACIT Letter to US House
Co-sponsors of Shop Safe Act
March 2020.

WHOIS Call for Action (co-signed).
February 2020.

TRACIT Letter to US Senate Finance Committee, How Statutory and Regulatory Barriers Prevent the Sharing of Information on Counterfeits.
December 2019.

TRACIT input to the Report on the U.S. State of Counterfeit and Pirated Goods Trafficking and Recommendations.
July 2019.

European Union

TRACIT submission to EU open public consultation on the Digital Services Act package,
September 2020.

TRACIT Contribution to European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
April 2020

TRACIT submission to EU consultation on Watch-List.
April 2020.

Other countries

TRACIT submission to Brazil National IP Strategy
August 2020.

TRACIT submission to UK Digital Markets Taskforce on pro competitive measures for unlocking competition in digital markets.
July 2020.