Today is the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day and the EUIPO has launched a Pan-European Campaign to raise awareness of the risks and damages posed by IPR infringement in Europe.

According to the EUIPO study European Citizens and Intellectual Property, consumers still find it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake goods. Nearly one in ten Europeans (9%) claimed that they were misled into buying counterfeits, with significant differences among EU Countries: Member States with a higher proportion of misled consumers are Bulgaria (19%), Romania (16%) and Hungary (15%), while Sweden (2%) and Denmark (3%) have the lowest figures within the EU.

In a context where e-commerce is booming (over 70% of Europeans shopped online in 2020, according to Eurostat) uncertainty regarding counterfeit products remains a concern among EU citizens. According to the study, a third of Europeans (33%) wondered whether a product they had bought was original.

A joint study by the EUIPO and the OECD shows that counterfeits represent 6.8% of EU imports worth EUR 121 billion and they impact every sector: cosmetics, toys, wine and beverages, electronics, clothing and even pesticides. During the COVID-19 pandemic, concern over counterfeit products has risen with a sensitive increase of counterfeit medicines and other medical products (e.g. antibiotics, painkillers, personal protective equipment, face masks, etc.).

In addition to the health and safety risks, counterfeits often lead to security breaches and financial losses. Digital piracy is another lucrative market for infringers, especially in the case of IPTV - televised content acquired through an internet connection. Providers of illegal IPTV gain almost EUR 1 billion euro every year in the EU, harming content creators and legitimate businesses.

Besides, counterfeiting not only affects consumers but also entails significant damage to the EU economy and, in particular, to SMEs. According to the IP SME scoreboard published by the EUIPO, one out of four SMEs in Europe claims to have suffered from IP infringement.

To find out more about risks and damages posed by IPR infringement in Europe, please read here and here.

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ECTA is also actively contributing to the fight against counterfeiting by sharing professional experience and best practices at the EU level and beyond, inter alia in its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.

To learn more about our Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, please click here.