EU report counts the cost of counterfeiting
08/06/2018
Over the past five years, EUIPO has tracked the economic cost of counterfeiting in sectors known to be vulnerable to intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements. These include clothing, footwear and accessories; sports goods; jewellery and watches; and handbags and luggage.
The EUIPO determined that the €60 billion lost by these sectors each year corresponds to 7.5% of their total sales. It also estimated that this has caused the direct loss of 434,000 jobs in these industries.
According to the study, the EU clothing, footwear and accessories sector take the biggest hit due to counterfeiting. Its annual direct lost sales due to counterfeiting was found to be €23.2 billion, or 8.1% of total sales.
The handbags and luggage sector was found to lose 11.6% of its overall sales as a direct result of counterfeiting. This equates to €1.6 billion per year.
The EUIPO has its headquarters in Alicante, Spain.
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