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 infringements of intellectual property rights in the 28 member countries of the European Union, and covers most of the sports practised, namely ball and ball sports, board 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 EUR 500 million, corresponding to 6.5% of annual sales.
To these direct losses must be added the indirect losses, i.e. those incurred by parallel market operators, and in particular the suppliers of the manufacturing companies in the sector, which amount to approximately EUR 350 million each year.
Finally, the study also revealed the losses incurred by the States, sums which they should have received in taxes, VAT and social contributions, which are estimated at 150 million euros per year.
Beyond the net losses, we also see the impact of counterfeiting on the labour market: 2800 jobs lost or not created per year in the sports equipment sector, 5800 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, which has a twofold purpose: to establish an inventory of counterfeiting and its consequences in the European Union sector by sector using a unified analysis method, but also to determine the priority sectors for which there is an urgent need to set up actions to raise public awareness of the harmful consequences of counterfeiting. The results of these studies will make it possible to better target the public to be reached. Recently, OHIM has, among other things, recently launched its "Counterfeiting the World" campaign. powered ideas » This project, launched last July, aims to raise awareness among young people across Europe through testimonies from people whose income is directly derived from the exploitation of their intellectual property rights. On the basis of these studies and the actions resulting from them, the OHIM intends to put everyone face to face with their responsibilities and try to demonstrate to purchasers of counterfeit goods that their act has a global economic impact that goes far beyond their personal justifications.
Link to the full study, in French, on the OHIM Observatory website.