Tackling Counterfeits in Cyprus: The Brand Owner's Enforcement Guide
Updated for 2026 — last updated: 19 July 2026
Counterfeiting costs Cyprus real money — EUIPO's June 2026 figures put annual losses to counterfeit goods in Cyprus at around €63 million — and the enforcement toolkit has sharpened considerably since most guides were written: a dedicated criminal statute with prison terms, an EU customs regime with mandatory electronic filing, and civil remedies that take profits as well as stock. Here is how brand owners actually enforce in Cyprus in 2026.
Table of Contents
The Criminal Route: Law 61(I)/2018
Cyprus's principal anti-counterfeiting statute — absent from most older commentary — is Law 61(I)/2018, which criminalises dealing in goods bearing counterfeit trade marks: manufacture, importation, possession for trade and sale, with penalties reaching five years' imprisonment and fines up to €50,000, alongside seizure and destruction of the goods. Complaints supported by trap purchases and mark registrations give the police and prosecuting authorities a case they can run — and for repeat local infringers, a criminal file changes behaviour in a way invoices for damages never do. The prerequisite is a registered mark: enforcement strength flows from the registrations described in our Cyprus trademark guide and EU trademark guide.
Stopping Goods at the Border: Customs AFAs
The highest-leverage tool costs the least: under EU Regulation 608/2013, brand owners file an Application for Action (AFA) asking customs to detain suspected counterfeits at the border — covering Cyprus alone or all EU member states through a single Union AFA. Filing runs electronically through the EUIPO IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP), mandatory for new e-AFAs since October 2024. Once an AFA is live, Cyprus customs detains matching consignments and notifies the right-holder, and the simplified procedure allows destruction of uncontested goods without litigation. For any brand actually shipped into or through Cyprus, an AFA with good product-identification data is the first thing to file — before the next container, not after it.
The Civil Route: Injunctions, Damages and Delivery-Up
Civil proceedings under the trade-mark framework and the IP enforcement rules give the brand owner the commercial remedies: interim and final injunctions (with the Cyprus courts' strong interim jurisdiction doing the urgent work), damages or an account of the infringer's profits, delivery-up and destruction of infringing stock, disclosure orders identifying suppliers and customers up the chain, and costs. Civil actions pair naturally with the criminal and customs tracks — the seized consignment becomes the evidence, the disclosure order becomes the map of the network.
Online and Marketplace Enforcement
Most counterfeit volume now moves through marketplaces and social platforms, all of which operate notice-and-takedown programmes keyed to registered rights — Amazon, eBay, Meta and the rest act fastest where the brand holds registrations and files through their IP programmes. The EU's Digital Services Act tightened platform obligations on repeat infringers and trusted-flagger notices, and the same IPEP portal that carries customs AFAs also shares enforcement data with authorities. The pattern that works: register the marks, enrol in the platform programmes, and feed takedowns and test purchases into the customs and criminal tracks rather than treating online as a separate war.
An Enforcement Strategy That Compounds
Effective brand protection in Cyprus is a loop, not a lawsuit: registrations first (Cyprus and EU marks); the customs AFA filed with strong identification data; platform programmes enrolled; test purchases and market watch feeding evidence; criminal complaints against persistent local players; and civil proceedings reserved for the infringers worth suing — with each seized consignment and disclosure order improving the next round's targeting. Budgeted annually, the loop costs a fraction of one lost distribution deal — and the €63 million national loss figure is the argument for boards that need one.
For Consumers and Tourists
Two practical notes for individuals. Buying counterfeits knowingly funds organised infringement and buys products with none of the safety compliance of the real thing — and goods bought abroad or across the Green Line can be confiscated at crossing points and on entry, with quantities suggesting trade attracting more than confiscation. If you are unsure whether goods are genuine, the registered-mark databases and the price are usually answer enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is selling counterfeit goods a crime in Cyprus?
Yes — under Law 61(I)/2018, dealing in goods bearing counterfeit marks carries penalties up to five years' imprisonment and €50,000 in fines, plus seizure and destruction of the goods.
How do I stop counterfeits entering Cyprus?
File a customs Application for Action under EU Regulation 608/2013 — electronically via the EUIPO IP Enforcement Portal (mandatory since October 2024) — covering Cyprus or the whole EU. Customs then detains matching consignments and the simplified procedure allows destruction of uncontested goods.
Can counterfeit goods be confiscated from travellers?
Yes — including at Green Line crossing points, where counterfeit purchases are routinely seized; commercial quantities invite prosecution rather than mere confiscation.
Speak to Connor Legal
Connor Legal builds and runs brand-protection programmes in Cyprus — registrations, customs AFAs, takedowns, criminal complaints and civil enforcement. To put the loop in place for your brand, contact the firm.
