A Greek law enacted in June 2011 (Law 3982/2011), providing the police ex officio authority to confiscate and destroy counterfeit goods, has been effective in some areas, but much progress remains due to continued budget cuts and high turnover in the public administration.  A 2013 law to protect trademarks, Law 4155/2013, shifted the burden of the cost of storage and destruction of counterfeit goods to the holder and beneficiary rights. Companies have requested Greek authorities to only require storage of a sample of the seized goods in official government facilities to reduce their burden of having to pay for storage for long periods. This remains an issue of contention for relevant parties. According to the government, counterfeit products in Greece are mainly luxury purses, wallets, sports footwear, clothing, watches, cigarettes, spirits, cell phone batteries and accessories, sunglasses, toys, and spare car parts.

Trademark violations, especially in the apparel and footwear sectors, are still widespread. However, Greece was removed from the Special 301 Watch List in 2020 in recognition of government efforts to address several issues. Such efforts included the allocation of over 39 million Euros for the purchase of software licenses in the public sector, the invitation for respective public tenders, and the establishment and imposition of fines for possessing counterfeit products through the adoption of new respective legislative provisions.

For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles. The U.S. Commercial Service can provide a list of local lawyers upon request.

In any foreign market companies should consider several general principles for effective protection of their intellectual property. For background, link to our article on Protecting Intellectual Property and Stopfakes.gov for more resources, as well as State Department’s Investment Climate Statements, which includes information on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in foreign economies. (Link: State’s ICS).