The EUIPO has published a new report entitled "Economic impact of counterfeiting in the clothing, cosmetics and toy sectors in the EU" dated January 2024.
Losses in the EU between 2018-2021 in each of the studied sectors due to counterfeiting are estimated as follows:
- Clothing - €12billion of revenue lost (equivalent to 5.2% of clothing sales in the EU)
- Cosmetics - €3 billion of revenue lost (equivalent to 4.8% of cosmetics sales in the EU)
- Toys - €1billion of revenue lost (equivalent to 8.7% of toy sales in the EU)
The 44-page report can be found here and sets out how the economic impact of counterfeiting in these sectors was assessed, using "independent econometric models that first analyse differences between the expected and actual sales of each type of goods at the national level...and subsequently attribute a share of these differences to sales of counterfeit goods in each EU MS". The report also shows how losses in these sectors can result in unemployment.
As the time period in question includes the Covid-19 pandemic, the EUIPO notes that "a longer analysis period is needed to confirm a return to pre-crisis levels or a structural change". The pandemic had a notable impact on the sale of both legitimate and counterfeit goods not least because there was simultaneously an increase in e-commerce sales and an overall decrease in sales of goods in these three sectors during this time.
The estimation of lost sales in each European Union (EU) member state (MS) is based on econometric models that rely on statistical counterfeiting indicators, such as an EUIPO survey of citizens on intellectual property (IP) infringement, border detentions of counterfeit goods, recorded offences associated with counterfeiters, and perceptions of corruption. The models' estimates help to determine the extent to which legitimate industries have suffered a reduction in sales due to the presence of counterfeit goods in the EU market. These lost sales translate into direct employment loses in the same industries.
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