Austria in the fight against product piracy: alarming numbers 2024!

Austria in the fight against product piracy: alarming numbers 2024!

Wien, Österreich - Austria positions itself in the fight against product piracy in the European Union, behind Germany and Belgium, such as [ots] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250520_ots0153/eibinger-miedl-oesterreich-un--eu-top-la-eightern-in-product piracy). In 2024, a total of 6,327 shipments were taken up by the customs in Austria on the basis of the EU product piracy regulation, which resulted in 9,974 procedure. In these controls, 128,898 fake products were found, the estimated value of which is over 38 million euros, which has been the second highest value since the start of the records.

health risk from counterfeits

Customs have implemented particularly protective measures at the airports and in postal traffic to take action against this threat. 80 percent of the counterfeits classified as health hazardous affect children such as toys and children's clothing. The majority of fake medication is ineffective or even harmful to health-example fake Viagra tablets: 97 percent without active ingredient, 3 percent with excessive dose.

The data show that in recent years the product piracy has increased in other areas such as everyday technologies, jewelry and auto parts. The reasons for this increase include less protective regulations and inferiority of the materials used in the manufacture. In addition, contaminated products are increasingly discovered, such as fake detergents with harmful ingredients. One example is the attack of 16 tons fake Persil from Turkey in 2024.

economic effects and measures

Recycling -intensive economic sectors create 30 percent of all jobs in Austria and contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) with 44 percent. The high number of fake products not only damages consumers' health, but also the domestic manufacturers and dealers. Tool expert Bernhard Herics warns of the simple ways to prepare themselves against these counterfeits and appeals to companies to become more active.

Another aspect is the planned reduction in the duty -free limit of currently 150 euros, which may require additional measures to combat product piracy. In 2024, a total of 4.6 billion e-commerce programs were registered in Europe, 1.7 million of which were decorated in Austria.

The government continues to pursue efforts to form consciousness on the dangers of product piracy, and the subject of fake products is increasingly discussed in public in order to ensure sustainability and security for consumers. This also includes the discussion about a possible introduction of a digital tax at the EU level, which allows the states to escape around 5 billion euros in tax revenue annually.

Overall, it becomes clear that the tendency towards product piracy and fake medication increases, so that both public and private actors are required to act accordingly. The recent measures also include control of international customs, which is well networked and can therefore offer a wide basis for combating product piracy.

In the coming time, it remains to be seen how the developments in the areas of product piracy and security will continue and what other measures are taken to combat this growing threat to consumers and the economy.