"96% from China: 1.43 Million Items Infringing Intellectual Property Rights Detected Last Year"

Last year, 1.43 million items infringing intellectual property rights were detected at the customs clearance stage.

The Korea Customs Service announced on August 1 that it will publish and distribute the '2024 Annual Statistical Report on Crackdown of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement.'

The report analyzes the types, customs clearance methods, items, and countries of origin of goods infringing intellectual property rights detected annually since 2015.

Provided by Korea Customs Service

Last year, 102,219 cases of intellectual property rights infringement were detected, amounting to 1.43 million items with a total weight of 230 tons.

By type of intellectual property right, trademark violations accounted for the largest number with 101,344 cases, followed by design and patent rights with 824 cases, and copyright with 51 cases. Among these, the number of trademark infringement cases increased by 21% compared to the previous year.

By customs clearance method, overseas direct purchases accounted for 86,873 cases, representing 85% of all detected cases. The number of items detected was 733,000, a 114% increase from the previous year, indicating a sharp rise in the inflow of counterfeit goods through overseas direct purchases.

By item, bags accounted for 31,236 cases (30.6%), footwear for 26,323 cases (25.8%), clothing for 14,218 cases (13.9%), home appliances for 5,791 cases (5.7%), personal accessories for 5,227 cases (5.1%), and toys and stationery for 4,414 cases (4.3%). In particular, the number of intellectual property rights infringement cases involving toys and stationery has been rapidly increasing, from 346 cases in 2022 to 752 cases in 2023.

By country of origin, China (including Hong Kong) accounted for 98,192 cases, representing 96.1% of the total. China was once again identified as the country responsible for the largest volume of intellectual property rights infringing goods imported into Korea, following 2023. Vietnam followed with 3,247 cases (3.2%), Australia with 369 cases (0.4%), and Thailand with 145 cases (0.1%), indicating significant volumes of infringing goods detected at the customs clearance stage from these countries as well.

The Korea Customs Service plans to produce 1,000 copies of the report (700 in Korean and 300 in English) and distribute them to relevant government agencies such as the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property and the Korea Trade Commission, as well as overseas diplomatic missions, overseas intellectual property centers (IP-DESK), KOTRA, intellectual property rights holders, and related organizations.

The report is also available for anyone to view on the Korea Customs Service website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.