Counterfeiting of sports equipment: more than €1 billion in annual losses

OHIM (the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, responsible for Community trade mark registrations) today published a worrying report on direct and indirect losses caused by counterfeit sports equipment, excluding clothes and shoes. This study was carried out by the European Observatory of Intellectual Property Rights Infringements in the 28 member states of the European Union, and covers most of the sports practiced, namely ball sports, sliding sports, water sports, outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, combat sports, gymnastics, athletics, fitness... It shows that the losses directly recorded by the companies in the sector amount to 500 million euros, which corresponds to 6.5% of annual sales. In addition to these direct losses, there are indirect losses, i.e. those suffered by operators in parallel markets, and in particular the suppliers of the companies manufacturing in the sector, which amount to approximately 350 million euros each year. Finally, the study also revealed the losses incurred by the States, which should have been collected in taxes, VAT and social security contributions, estimated at 150 million euros per year. In addition to the net losses, the impact of counterfeiting on the labour market is also noted: 2,800 jobs lost or not created per year in the sports equipment sector, and 5,800 jobs lost or not created per year in the parallel sectors which depend on it. This study is part of a series launched by the OHIM in March 2015, with a twofold aim: to establish an inventory of counterfeiting and its consequences in the European Union sector by sector thanks to a unified analysis method, but also to determine the priority sectors for which it is urgent to set up actions to raise public awareness about the harmful consequences of counterfeiting. The results of these studies help to better target the public to be reached. Recently, the OHIM has launched its "powered ideas" launched last July, to raise awareness among young people across Europe through testimonials from people whose income is directly derived from the exploitation of their intellectual property rights. With these studies and the resulting actions, OHIM intends to hold everyone accountable, and to try to demonstrate to buyers of counterfeit goods that their actions have a global economic impact that goes far beyond their personal justifications. Link to the full study, in French, on the OHIM Observatory website.