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6 June 2019Trademarks

Annual loss of €56 billion across the EU due to counterfeits: report

There is an annual loss of approximately €56 billion ($62.6 billion) across the European Union due to counterfeit products, the European Union Intellectual Property Office ( EUIPO) has said.

The figure was released today, June 6, in the EUIPO’s “2019 Status Report on Intellectual Property Rights Infringement”.

According to the study, counterfeiting is most prevalent in 11 key economic sectors. These include clothing, footwear, toys, jewelry, luggage, recorded music, smartphones, pesticides, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, spirits and wine.

It found that in the UK, industries in these areas collectively lose around €6.7 billion a year due to counterfeit activity.

Christian Archambeau,  EUIPO’s executive director, said counterfeiting and piracy can put growth and jobs at risk.

“We carry out this analysis, and our wider body of research, to support policy makers in devising solutions to this problem, and to help make EU consumers aware of the economic consequences of counterfeiting and piracy at a wider level."

The EUIPO said the abundance of counterfeiters means that legitimate manufacturers produce fewer genuine products. This means brands employ fewer workers. According to EUIPO estimates, approximately 468,000 jobs are lost across the EU because of this.

Positively, the EUIPO said the current figures are a partial improvement on the first analysis in 2018.

“The amount of lost sales has dropped at EU level in all but two of the sectors studied: clothing and cosmetics,” the report said.

In the cosmetics sector specifically, the presence of counterfeit goods leads to an estimated loss of €5.7 billion per year, the EUIPO found.

The UK-based  Anti-Counterfeiting Group, which represents more than 3,000 brands affected by counterfeiters, said the EUIPO report presents a “harrowing and disturbing picture” of IP crime.

“Businesses and governments are being starved of finances, which could be re-invested to create legitimate jobs and support vital public services. Moreover, consumers are under greater threat than ever from a growing rise in fakes that threaten health and lives,” the group said.

ACG said that in the UK, it was working to help educate consumers as well as raise awareness amongst policy makers about the “growing and menacing threats” associated with IP crime.

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More on this story

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17 September 2019   Recent studies have highlighted an alarming trend in counterfeiting. Right owners must offer a strong response, says Frédéric Blanc of Dennemeyer & Associates France.
Trademarks
21 March 2019   Global sales of counterfeit and pirated goods jumped to €460 billion ($509 billion) a year in 2016, amounting to 3.3% of world trade.