WHERE IT STARTED
FIRST SEEN: 19th century (trademark era); mass export counterfeiting from c. 1980 · GOING FOR: Modern industry c. 45 years
Trademark counterfeiting was prosecuted in Europe in the 19th century; the modern export industry began in China and Taiwan in the 1980s as manufacturing moved there.
Product counterfeiting followed the first trademarks: French wine and English cutlery were faked in the 1800s, and the Paris Convention of 1883 was partly a response. The modern industry took off with Chinese export manufacturing in the 1980s-90s, moving from luxury handbags to every category including car parts, medicines, electronics and food. The OECD and EUIPO's 2025 study values the global trade in fakes at $467 billion in 2021, 2.3% of world imports, with China the source of 45% of seizures. Online marketplaces and small parcels have replaced container loads as the main route.
HOW IT WORKS
Factories, mainly in China and Hong Kong, produce goods carrying someone else's trademark or copying a patented design, from handbags and sneakers to network switches and brake pads. Goods move through free-trade zones, are relabelled and shipped in small parcels or containers with false paperwork, then sold through marketplaces, social media, storage-unit showrooms or as 'grey market' stock to unwitting distributors. Dangerous variants include fake medicines, aircraft parts and networking gear that ends up in hospitals and military systems.
Branded goods at a fraction of retail from a seller with no authorised-dealer statusPackaging with misspellings, missing holograms or serial numbers that fail the maker's checkMarketplace storefronts that change names frequentlyNetworking or electronic gear with mismatched labels, firmware errors or early failureSellers who ship from free-trade zones or 'refurbish' brand-new items
HOW USEFUL IT IS TO CRIMINALS
Profit margins rival narcotics with far lower penalties: a fake handbag or switch costs a few dollars to make and sells for hundreds. Enforcement seizes only a small share of shipments (the OECD relies on customs data that captures a fraction of trade), and most cases end in civil takedowns rather than prison; Aksoy's 78 months is among the longest US sentences.
THE DAMAGE IT HAS CAUSED
$467 billion
Global trade in counterfeit goods, 2021 — OECD/EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025
The OECD and EUIPO estimate $467 billion in counterfeit trade in 2021 (published May 2025), including $117 billion into the EU. The largest single US case, the 2023 Manhattan seizure, held $1.03 billion in fake luxury goods. Non-money harm is severe: fake medicines, car parts and network equipment cause deaths, failures and security breaches, and counterfeit factories are linked to forced labour.
$467 billion Global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in 2021, 2.3% of world imports (OECD/EUIPO, May 2025)
45% Share of global counterfeit seizures originating in China, 2021 (OECD/EUIPO, May 2025)
$1.03 billion Retail value of fakes in the largest US seizure (Manhattan, Nov 2023) (CNN, 16 Nov 2023)
WHO USES IT MOST
MOST OF ALL: 🇨🇳 China ▸
China is the origin of 45% of reported counterfeit seizures in 2021 and, with Hong Kong, of the goods in the largest US criminal cases (Aksoy's Cisco gear, the Manhattan luxury haul).
China (main source)Hong Kong (transit and source)Turkey (source for Europe)United States (largest destination market)UAE (free-trade-zone transit)
GOVERNMENTS LINKED TO IT
No government is documented as using this method.
NOTABLE PEOPLE WHO USED IT — RANKED BY PROFILE ORDER (NOT BY AMOUNT)
#1 Onur Aksoy (Pro Network Entities) CONVICTED (78 MONTHS, 1 MAY 2024)REPORT PENDING
Over $100M in revenue; $100M restitution to Cisco; hundreds of millions in retail value · 2013-2022
Ran 19 companies and about 25 Amazon and eBay storefronts selling tens of thousands of counterfeit Cisco devices from China that ended up in US hospitals, schools and military systems.
SOURCE: GSA Office of Inspector General and Tom's Hardware, May 2024
#2 Adama Sow and Abdulai Jalloh CHARGED (NOV 2023)REPORT PENDING
About $1.03 billion in manufacturer's retail value · 2023
Charged after the largest counterfeit seizure in US history: about 219,000 fake luxury bags, shoes and clothes in a Manhattan storage facility.
SOURCE: CNN, 16 Nov 2023
#3 Chinese manufacturing exporters (OECD/EUIPO finding) FINDING (NOT A PROSECUTION)REPORT PENDING
$467B global trade in fakes, 2021 · 2021
Source of 45% of all customs seizures of counterfeit goods worldwide in 2021; Hong Kong and Türkiye follow.
SOURCE: OECD/EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025
SOURCES
OECD/EUIPO, 'Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025', May 2025
OECD press release, 'Global trade in fake goods reached USD 467 billion', May 2025
GSA OIG, Onur Aksoy sentenced, May 2024
Tom's Hardware, counterfeit Cisco gear sentencing, May 2024
CNN, largest counterfeit seizure in US history, 16 Nov 2023
Global Finance Magazine, 'Fake Goods Trade Reaches $467 Billion', 2025