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DEVASTATING IMPACTS/
ECONOMIC LOSSES
source: www.interpol.int/Public/
News/Factsheet51pr21.asp
www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/
oyb/goods_services/counterfeit_
goods.shtml
www.brazilcouncil.org/usermedia/
MediaLibrary/Counterfeiting_and
_Piracy_in_Brazil.pdf
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The economic impact of counterfeiting on legitimate companies is enormous. Moreover, the loss of jobs and tax revenues is matter of concern for several countries…- in 1982 the International Trade Commission estimated counterfeiting and piracy losses at US$5.5 billion. In 1996 that number stood at US$250 billion. A year later the number increased again to US$350 billion. According to the World Customs Organization, the most recent estimates (2003) place annual losses at US$456 billion;(1)
- in the United States, the FBI estimates losses to counterfeiting at US$200-250 billion/year. Between 1992-1995, clothing & footwear companies lost an average of 22% of their total sales or US$2 billion/year;(2)
- in Western Europe, according to the World Customs Organization, clothing & footwear companies lose €7.5 billion per year to counterfeiting, and software companies lose €3.8 billion per year; (3)
- in China, the authorities estimate that they lose US$3 billion in tax revenues each year, and foreign multinationals reckon they lose at least 20% of the value of their potential sales in mainland China to counterfeits; (4)
Counterfeiting and piracy cost thousands of jobs worldwide…- according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as well as the European Commission, counterfeit goods are responsible for the loss of 100,000 jobs in Europe and 120,000 in the United States each year over the past ten years; (5).
- a recent GACG report, shows that brand counterfeiting results in the direct loss last year of about 4,100 jobs in the United Kingdom alone. Counterfeiting also results in an annual reduction of Britains GDP of £768 million (about €1.09 billion) - costing UK companies somewhere between £4 billion and £6.6 billion (about €6-9.9 billion) per year;
- in Brazil, estimates of job loss vary by industry. The toy industry reports that it has lost 80,000 jobs to piracy in recent years, the recording industry estimates a loss of some 55,000 jobs over three years, and the optics and lenses industry lost 8,000 jobs in 2003. Experts estimate that the Brazilian black market is worth US$20 billion and over 1.5 million jobs are lost due to counterfeiting and piracy.
(1) Sources: Abbott and Sporn 2001, §1.03 [A][2]; OECD 1998, p. 24; Abbott and Sporn 2001, §1.03 [A][2]; ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau 1997; World Customs Organization 2003.
(2) The International Trademark Association, “The Economic Impact of Trademark, Counterfeiting and Infringement”, 1998. The study was conducted on 40 countries.
(3) World Customs Organization 2001, §2.1.
(4) “Une coalition internationale contre les faussaires”, Le Figaro, 29th January 2003; Porteous, 2001.
(5) European Commission 1998, p. 4; OECD 1998, p. 24; ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau 1997.
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