EU cases of fake DVDs and CDs fall to new low

Last year the number of EU cases involving fake DVDs and CDs fell to their lowest level since records began after a fifth successive drop.

Since peaking at 2,880 cases in 2006 the number of of incidents involving fake DVDs and CDs at European borders has fallen each year. Last year the number fell to 1,153, the lowest since the European Union (EU) began publishing data on customs seizures in 2004.

The continued fall likely reflects the shift to downloading of pirated films and music. As in other areas of counterfeiting, where online sales have driven a surge in postal deliveries, the internet has overturned the traditional means of distributing pirated films and music.

Almost all of the cases involved recorded DVDs and CDs, with incidents of unrecorded products dropping to 71 from 117 in the prior year. Almost all of the cases of unrecorded DVDs and CDs were linked to China. Syria was the most common source of recorded DVDs and CDs though.