In Europe, the very expensive counterfeiting

2024-01-16T17:46:53.123Z

Highlights: Counterfeiting costs the clothing industry €16 billion every year in Europe. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Austria alone account for more than half of these losses. Counterfeiting also has employment implications. According to the study, it would have led to the elimination of 200,000 jobs, 20% of which are in Germany, i.e. 40,000. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) recognises that "counterfeiting, like any illegal activity, cannot be precisely measured"

According to a study conducted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), counterfeiting costs the clothing industry €16 billion every year,...

In Europe, the very expensive counterfeiting

According to a study conducted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), counterfeiting costs the clothing, toy and cosmetics sectors in Europe €16 billion every year. But these products do not affect sectors in the same way and they have an impact on employment.

Members of the municipal police seize counterfeit clothing from the back of a car during an anti-counterfeiting operation at the Saint-Ouen flea market in northern Paris on December 11, 2023. © Thomas Samson / AFP

By: RFI Follow

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Of the three areas of activity examined by the study, it is clothing that is the most affected by counterfeiting: €12 billion in lost revenue each year between 2018 and 2021, much more than cosmetics (€3 billion) or toys (€1 billion). Some countries are more affected than others: Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Austria alone account for more than half of these financial losses.

And counterfeiting also has employment implications. According to the study, it would have led to the elimination of 200,000 jobs, 20% of which are in Germany, i.e. 40,000. There were also 24,000 jobs lost in Italy, about 15,000 in Spain and as many in France.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) recognises that "counterfeiting, like any illegal activity, cannot be precisely measured". So to try to get a clearer picture, the office based itself on the seizures made by the police, but also on the percentage of Europeans who admitted to having bought counterfeit goods.

According to a June 2023 survey, one-third of them consider it "acceptable" to do so if the price of the genuine product is too high. This proportion rises to half when it comes to young people.

In Europe, the very expensive counterfeiting

In Europe, the very expensive counterfeiting

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