More than half of UK counterfeits bought intentionally: OECD

Most counterfeit products sold in the UK are purchased by consumers who are intentionally buying fake goods, a new report has claimed.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a study on the impact of counterfeiting on the UK economy today, November 29.

The report, based on data from 2016, estimates that goods such as clothing, footwear, leather goods, handbags, toys, and games are the most counterfeited products in the UK.

Fake information and communication technology (ICT) products with a total value of £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) were imported into the UK that year.

According to the report, a majority of counterfeit goods sold in 2016 were purchased by consumers who were knowingly buying fake goods, although this figure varied significantly by type of product.

Nearly two-thirds (59%) of counterfeit clothes, footwear, and leather products were purchased knowingly, the report claimed, while the figure was just 33% for foodstuffs.

Earlier this month, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published its IP and Youth Scoreboard, which estimated that only 8% of young people (aged 15-24) in the UK buy counterfeit goods intentionally.

The figure of young people across the EU who knowingly purchased fake goods was just 13%.

Compared to the previous batch of data, gathered in 2013, the latest report based on 2016 figures indicates that the most common sources of counterfeit goods coming into the UK have changed.

India, formerly the second most common ‘provenance economies’ for counterfeit and pirate goods infringing UK residents’ IP rights, is now in ninth place.

Thailand has now broken into the top three provenance economies for fake goods in the UK, the report said, while China and Hong Kong continue to lead the way.

A total value of £13.6 billion worth of goods was imported into the UK in 2016, the report said.

This marked an increase from 2013 in absolute terms (when the figure was £9.3 billion), but a slight decrease relative to legitimate imports.

Counterfeits accounted for just 3% of all UK imports in 2016, a small drop from 4% three years earlier.

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