Berlin - German customs agents swarmed through the IFA consumer-electronics fair, hunting for non-payers of royalties, shortly after the expo opened Friday in the German capital Berlin.

Asian manufacturers of electronic gadgets appeared to be major targets of the raids, which were led by Berlin prosecutors and prompted by complaints from international corporations about alleged illegal copying.

There were similar raids at the CeBIT electronics fair in the German city of Hanover in March. Many of the allegations involve patented software in the digital devices. The patent owners expect royalties or fees every time the software is used.

Norbert Scheithauer, a Berlin-region spokesman for the German customs service, said 220 agents had been deployed to raid about 50 booths at IFA and would continue their work until Friday evening.

He denied there was any focus on Asian companies, saying European manufacturers were being raided too.

A German online news service, FAZ.net, said the Taiwan Image Hall, where award-winning Taiwanese designs were shown, was a target.

Agents brought cartons and took away television sets, receivers for terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T) and MP3 players.

Elements of decoding software for both DVB-T and MP3 are protected under German law. (dpa)