The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (Observatory) under the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) released the eighth installment of its sectorial reports on the economic cost of intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement. Spoiler – the EU loses €1.3 billion(!) every year due to fake spirits and wine …
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has published a report presenting the results of the eighth sectorial study, covering the production of two products: spirits and wine.
The EPO/OHIM (2013) study revealed that both sectors are intensive in their use of trade marks and Geographical Indications and that designs are also used intensively in the spirits sector.
Loss of €1.3 billion and nearly 20,000 jobs
It is estimated that the legitimate industries loses approximately €1.3 billion of revenue annually due to the presence of counterfeit spirits and wine in the EU marketplace, corresponding to 3.3% of the sectors’ sales. This also means that 4.4% of legitimate sales of spirits and 2.3% of legitimate sales of wine are lost each year due to counterfeiting of alcoholic drinks.
Those lost sales translate into 4,800 jobs directly lost across the spirits and wine sectors in the EU, as legitimate manufacturers employ fewer people than they would have done in the absence of counterfeiting.
When the knock-on effects of counterfeit wines and spirits in the marketplace are taken into account, 18,500 additional jobs are lost in the EU economy, of which notably 8,600 jobs are in agriculture and 1,300 jobs in the food industry. The total yearly loss of government revenue as a result of counterfeit products in these sectors across the EU-28 is estimated at €1.2 billion. The countries that suffer the majority of these costs include Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom; annually, these countries lose an estimated €263 million, €162 million, €136 million, €140 million, and €87 million, respectively.
In future reports, EU Observatory will study the effects of counterfeiting on additional sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, computers, auto parts, and other industries that are considered to be prone to IPR infringement.
>> For the full report please visit this webpage.
Source: EUIPO News
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