Counterfeit components in critical infrastructure are no longer a side issue for luxury brands: on 30 June and 1 July 2026, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) brought customs authorities, the EU aviation safety agency and manufacturers such as Cisco, Nokia, Infineon and Volvo Group to Alicante to tackle fakes in transport, energy and communication networks. For industrial and technology manufacturers, a fake part is a safety problem as well as an IP problem. That changes how distribution contracts and cooperation with customs should be set up.
Key takeaways
- OLAF and the EUIPO focused their 2026 joint conference on critical and high-risk sectors: aviation, road transport, communications, health and energy.
- The rights holders at the table were component and equipment makers, not only consumer brands.
- OECD and EUIPO research already ranks automotive spare parts and optical and medical apparatus among the most frequent dangerous counterfeits.
- Customs act fastest when they know your genuine product, your authorised distributors and whom to call: that is the purpose of an application for action.
What happened at the OLAF–EUIPO conference?
According to OLAF’s announcement of 1 July 2026, the conference “Securing Europe’s Backbone: Combating Counterfeiting in Critical and High-Risk Sectors” took place at the EUIPO in Alicante.
| Element | What OLAF reported |
|---|---|
| Dates and venue | 30 June to 1 July 2026, EUIPO premises, Alicante |
| Participants | More than 50: EU customs, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and rights holders |
| Companies named | Apple, Chemours, Chiesi, Cisco, Danfoss, Infineon, Microsoft, Nokia, Schaeffler, Volvo Group, ZF Group |
| Sectors | Transport systems, critical infrastructure and communication networks |
OLAF’s Director-General, Petr Klement, described counterfeiting in these sectors as “not a victimless crime”. The event is part of a series: in July 2025 the same partners met in Alicante on fakes in everyday consumer goods.
Why are counterfeit components in critical infrastructure a different risk?
A fake handbag harms the brand. A fake bearing, circuit breaker, network module or brake part can fail in service. The OECD/EUIPO study “Dangerous Fakes” (2022), based on customs seizures from 2017 to 2019, found that apparel, automotive spare parts, optical and medical apparatus and pharmaceuticals were the most frequent dangerous counterfeits, with China and Hong Kong (China) behind more than three quarters of seizures.
The Commission’s report on 2024, published on 1 October 2025, counted about 112 million fake items detained in the EU, worth an estimated EUR 3.8 billion. By volume, consumer goods such as recorded media, toys and clothing still lead. In practice, industrial fakes appear in smaller numbers but with far higher consequences per unit.
How should distribution contracts change?
Most counterfeit components reach end users through grey channels: unauthorised resellers, brokers and marketplaces offering “original” spare parts at a discount. The contract with your distributors is the first line of defence. We recommend reviewing at least these points:
- Sourcing: the distributor buys only from you or listed authorised sources and keeps batch and serial records.
- Reporting: a duty to notify you promptly of suspected fakes, with samples and documents.
- Cooperation: your right to inspect stock and the distributor’s duty to support customs and police action.
- Trade mark use and exit: no registration of your marks or domain names in the distributor’s name, and clear rules on stock and local registrations at termination.
Where do customs and the application for action fit in?
Under Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, an application for action asks for exactly what customs need to spot a fake component: technical data on the authentic goods, information to identify suspect goods, and risk information such as your authorised distributors. A national application covers one Member State; a Union application, available for EU-wide rights such as EU trade marks, covers the Member States you indicate. No fee is charged (Article 8).
Without an application, customs may still detain suspect goods on their own initiative, but you must then file one within four working days (Article 5(3)): too tight to explain from scratch how a genuine unit differs from a copy.
What this means for your business
- Map which products are safety-relevant and where copies are likely to enter: ports, express couriers, marketplaces.
- Check that your trade marks and designs are registered where the parts are sold and where they transit, including key markets in Latin America and Africa.
- File or update an application for action with product guides customs can use at the counter.
- Align distribution agreements with your enforcement plan and name one contact who can answer customs within days.
Our team for anti-counterfeiting, licensing and IP enforcement can prepare the customs filings and contract clauses together, so both point to the same products and the same people.
When to bring in an adviser
- Rights that do not match the product. A mark registered for the wrong classes, or not at all in the transit country, leaves customs without a basis to act.
- Generic product guides. Officers need markings, packaging details and serial number logic, not a brochure.
- Missed deadlines after a detention, which lead to the goods being released.
- Regulatory overlap. Where component integrity also raises cybersecurity and supply-chain duties, such as NIS2, the META Channel group covers that side within the same group.
Frequently asked questions
What was the OLAF–EUIPO conference on critical sectors?
It was a two-day meeting held on 30 June and 1 July 2026 at the EUIPO in Alicante, titled “Securing Europe’s Backbone”. More than 50 participants from EU customs, the IAEA, EASA and companies active in aviation, road transport, communications, health and energy shared case studies and investigative tools.
Are counterfeit industrial components covered by EU customs enforcement?
Yes. Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 covers goods suspected of infringing trade marks, designs, patents, utility models, copyright and other listed rights, whatever the product. Customs act most effectively when the rights holder has an approved application for action with technical data on the genuine goods and its authorised distributors.
Does a customs application for action cost anything?
Customs do not charge a fee for processing the application or its extension. The rights holder does undertake to bear certain costs, such as storage and destruction of detained goods when customs request it, and to accept liability if the goods turn out not to infringe.
Can IP Global Guard protect our components against counterfeits across several markets?
Yes. We prepare and coordinate customs applications, product guides and responses to detentions in the EU, and align them with your trade mark portfolio and distribution contracts. In Latin America and Africa we coordinate qualified local correspondents, so you keep one point of contact for the whole corridor.
How IP Global Guard can help protect your supply chain
Stopping fake components depends on registered rights in the right places, customs that know your product and distributors bound to report. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates all three with one strategy and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Tell us which components are most exposed and where you have seen copies. We will review your registrations, customs coverage and distribution contracts and propose a plan. Contact our enforcement team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its date of publication.
Sources
- OLAF, OLAF and EUIPO joined forces to protect critical sectors from counterfeit threats (1 July 2026)
- OLAF, OLAF and EUIPO join forces to fight counterfeits in everyday products (3 July 2025)
- OECD/EUIPO, Dangerous Fakes (March 2022)
- European Commission (DG TAXUD), EU detains 112 million counterfeit items in 2024 (1 October 2025)
- Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 on customs enforcement of IP rights (12 June 2013), as adopted
