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5 September 2019TrademarksRory O'Neill

Counterfeit vehicle parts a ‘threat to public safety’: IPO report

The global trade in counterfeit vehicle parts is now worth $10 billion, according to a new report.

This was among the findings revealed in the UK Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) annual IP crime report, published today, September 5.

The data in the report was compiled by members of the IP Crime Group, a collaboration between the IPO and industry representatives including trade bodies and enforcement agencies.

Tobacco, cosmetics, clothing and footwear remain the hotspot industries for counterfeiters, the report said, with these being the top ten types of products investigated by UK Trading Standards in 2018-19.

Other types of counterfeits, such as electrical goods and automobile parts, pose a serious threat to safety, the report said.

Research from the Electrical Safety First campaign revealed that millennials (25-34 year-olds) were the most likely demographic to fall victim to online counterfeit scams.

Around half of this group have bought counterfeit electrical goods online unintentionally, the report claimed. In the context of the wider population, research said that one in three in the UK had mistakenly purchased counterfeit electrical goods online.

Yet just 8.6% of those aged over 55 had bought counterfeit electrical goods online.

According to Electrical Safety First, the products most typically offered as part of counterfeit scams include tumble dryers, television streaming boxes, kettles, travel adaptors and hair straighteners.

A submission by the Independent Garage Association (IGA), comprised of vehicle garage owners in the UK, said that its members were growing increasingly concerned at the trend of customers bringing their own parts to be fitted.

These are often counterfeit parts purchased at discount prices but to the detriment of road safety, the body said.

Figures from the OECD indicated that the counterfeit vehicle part trade was worth $10 billion.

According to the IGA, 69% of garages will “never fit” customer supplied parts, while 29% used to but no longer do so.

The IPO identified counterfeit tobacco as one area that was funnelling significant sums of money to organised crime.

According to the IPO, the loss of revenue from tobacco taxation as a result of counterfeits cost the UK exchequer “millions a week in lost revenue”.

This illegal tobacco trade was linked to slavery and sexual exploitation, the IPO said.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Giles York, chair of the IP Crime Group, said that “so many law-abiding people believe they are getting a bargain but not only are they being duped they are putting money directly into the pockets of organised crime”.

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