Brands

Counterfeit and brand protection: on-site destruction

3 April 2026 · 7 min read · DeSnipperaar

Each year Dutch Customs intercept millions of euros of counterfeit goods: watches, clothing, bags, electronics, cosmetics, medicines. What happens to those goods afterwards is legally and logistically less simple than it appears. A counterfeit watch cannot simply be sold, given away or scrapped. Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 and the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property set requirements for how rights holders and authorities dispose of seized goods. This article is about the practice of destruction in trademark infringement and product protection, specifically the role of on-site destruction.

Audience: brand owners, legal counsel, brand protection managers, customs forwarders and legal practice.

The legal basis

Regulation (EU) 608/2013 governs customs action against goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Rights holders can submit an Application for Action (AFA) authorising customs to inspect, detain and possibly destroy goods.

In practice, rights holder, customs and a destruction party coordinate execution. Destruction may only take place once:

• The rights holder has confirmed the infringement.
• The owner has not lodged a defence, or the defences have been rejected.
• In the simplified procedure (art. 23 of the Regulation): after receipt of consent or in the absence of a response within the deadline.

A counterfeit product is only truly out of the market when it is physically unusable. As long as a logo remains legible, the trade-in value can revive via secondhand markets and online platforms.

Why on-site destruction?

Rights holders choose on-site destruction (typically a customs depot, shipping centre or the rights holder's own warehouse) for four reasons:

1. Evidence: the rights holder or their authorised representative can witness and capture the destruction on photo or video.
2. Integrity: no intermediate transport in which products could disappear or re-enter the market.
3. Speed: seized batches can be destroyed within a day without a logistics chain.
4. Documentation: a certificate with number of units, brand, product type and method serves as evidence for any civil action.

Types of seized goods

The variety is enormous:

• Clothing and shoes with false brand labels
• Watches and jewellery
• Bags and leather goods
• Electronics (chargers, audio, smartphones with false brands)
• Cosmetics and perfumes (risk due to contents)
• Medicines and food supplements (special IGJ rules)
• Car parts
• Toys (CE mark fraud)
• Packaging material with false brands

Each type requires its own destruction method. Electronics: shredding with e-waste disposal. Cosmetics: separate route because of liquids. Medicines: always via an IGJ-certified route.

The DIN 66399 side

DIN 66399 is primarily written for data, not for products. Yet the standard is used in the industry to qualify physical destruction. For branded goods the following are often applied:

• Shredder grade 4 or 5: particles small enough that logo and brand label are no longer recognisable.
• Mechanical disintegration: often combined with physical deformation, melting or chemical denaturing.

For products the rights holder sometimes prescribes its own specifications. A watch manufacturer can, for example, require that crowns and dials be visibly mechanically destroyed. A cosmetics brand often requires that the brand logo be illegible and the contents chemically denatured.

Who is present?

A typical counterfeit destruction session has present:

1. Operator of the destruction party
2. Representative of the rights holder or their lawyer
3. Customs officer (for seized batches)
4. Forwarder (at storage centres)
5. Photographer or camera operator for documentation

After destruction a formal record is drawn up with imagery, quantities and signatures.

The certificate in counterfeit cases

The certificate differs slightly in content from the standard Certificate of Destruction (see Certificate of Destruction):

• Brand and model name
• Number of units
• Customs reference (AFA number, registration number)
• Method of destruction
• Date, location, persons present
• Photo and video material as an appendix
• Statement that all goods have been rendered unusable

Civil follow-up

Destruction is often part of a civil procedure in which the rights holder claims damages from the infringer. The certificate and photo documentation then serve as evidence in court. Without a proper certificate the claim is difficult to substantiate.

Sustainability

A point of growing attention: destroying clothing and textiles instead of repurposing them is socially sensitive. Large rights holders are under pressure to avoid destruction. Counterfeits may not be repurposed by law, but raw materials (cotton, polyester, leather) can be recycled once logos and brand labels have been rendered unusable. Ask your destruction party about recycling routes.

Retail stock with trademark infringement

Beyond customs seizures, retail seizure also occurs: chains that accidentally take counterfeits into stock via unreliable wholesalers. After discovery these products must be taken out of circulation, including display samples and tester packs. See also our article on return stock and uniforms in retail.

E-commerce and platform trade

For marketplaces and webshops, counterfeit is a permanent concern. Platforms such as Marktplaats, Bol and Amazon have their own programmes (Brand Registry, Project Zero) that allow rights holders to have counterfeits removed quickly. In some cases the seller's stock is seized and destroyed. Destruction at the local storage point prevents goods from returning to the origin and re-entering the market.

In summary

• Regulation (EU) 608/2013 is the framework for customs seizure.
• On-site destruction eliminates chain risk and provides direct evidentiary value.
• A certificate with brand name, quantity and method is legally relevant.
• Photo and video documentation support civil claims.
• Recycling of raw materials is possible once brand labels have been rendered illegible.

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