Before Entering the EU: Build an Anti-Counterfeit Evidence Pack and Customs Workflow

A practical guide to mapping rights, identifying genuine goods, preserving evidence and preparing an EU customs response.

Editorial desk

If you are preparing to sell your own brand in the European Union, the goal is not merely to interpret a news item. It is to build an anti-counterfeiting evidence pack and response workflow that your team can use. On 22 October 2026, the EU reported that enforcement authorities intercepted more than 196 million counterfeit items in 2025. That scale makes advance preparation relevant even to a small cross-border pilot: organise the record before shipment rather than search for it only after a fake listing appears.

First, map the boundary of your rights. A useful working table records the owner of each trademark or design, protected territory, covered goods or services, application or registration number, current status and responsible adviser. Trademark rights apply only to the relevant goods or services and the countries of protection, so a home-market registration does not automatically establish enforceable rights in the EU. When countries, product classes or owner names do not align, obtain qualified advice on filing or correction before promotion.

Second, create one genuine-versus-fake identification sheet for each priority product. As an editorial recommendation, include clear photographs of authentic packaging, labels, seals, serial-number locations and product details, plus confusing differences, authorised packaging versions and the official brand page. This is not a statutory format; its purpose is to help platforms, distributors and enforcement personnel compare quickly. The European Commission notes that many right holders publish pictures and descriptions of originals to help customers identify fakes, so keep the public version current as packaging changes.

Third, organise an authorised supply-chain list. Record manufacturers, importers, authorised distributors, official shop names and permitted sales territories, with an owner and review date for each record. Do not place confidential costs, customer contacts or full contracts in the external version; disclose only what is needed to assess authenticity. Because courier and postal parcels are common customs detention settings, ask logistics and service teams to report unusual shippers, repeated return addresses and unexplained lot numbers.

Fourth, establish a monitoring and evidence routine. A suggested weekly check covers the brand name, common misspellings, images and major model numbers. For a suspicious offer, preserve the full URL, seller name, listing time, price, page screenshots, sample-purchase records and parcel label, together with who captured each item and when. Whether to buy a sample or contact the seller depends on market and case risk; seek local legal advice when needed. The rights holder bears the primary burden of identifying infringement and choosing action, so the record must support a decision rather than consist of isolated screenshots.

Fifth, assess an EU customs Application for Action. A right holder may submit an AFA asking customs to detain goods suspected of infringing its intellectual property rights. Since 3 October 2024, applications must be filed electronically through IPEP or the national portals of Germany and Spain. Before filing, determine whether a national or Union application fits, which rights and countries it covers, and prepare the contact and authenticity information. An AFA does not guarantee interception; eligibility, representation and content must be checked against the official form and the case.

Sixth, route incidents into three paths. For an online listing, use the platform procedure with rights and listing evidence. For suspected imports, have the responsible owner assess a customs alert or AFA follow-up. For persistent, large-scale or cross-border infringement, obtain professional legal advice promptly before choosing a warning letter, administrative action, litigation or another remedy. Rights and remedies differ by jurisdiction, so do not automate every market with one template. Customs has a major role where border measures are available against counterfeit trademark goods.

Finally, turn the work into a handover-ready pack: one rights table, product identification sheets, an authorised-channel list, an incident log, and escalation rules for platforms, customs and counsel. A quarterly or post-redesign review is a suggested operating rhythm, not a statutory deadline. Your immediate next action is to choose the EU product with the highest sales or nearest launch and spend 30 minutes completing its rights row and authentic-photo checklist. The gaps will show whether the next job is rights coverage, evidence or response ownership.

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