The very strong impact of counterfeiting in Europe in the clothing and cosmetics sectors

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the European body responsible for managing Community trademarks, through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, has for some time been carrying out targeted studies on the impact of counterfeiting on various sectors of industry. Its first studies focus on the clothing and perfume and cosmetics sectors. In the clothing, footwear and accessories sectorThe volume of sales of counterfeit products is estimated at around 10%. Applying a calculation method developed on the basis of figures collected in all the Member States of the European Union, this amounts to a loss of 26 billion euros for companies in this sector. And it is not only turnover that is affected, as it is estimated that 363,000 jobs are lost or not created as a result of counterfeiting. Indeed, the loss incurred and the loss of earnings do not allow these jobs to be maintained or created. Furthermore, if we go further and extend these figures to the related sectors that depend on the clothing, footwear and accessories sector (we are thinking mainly of suppliers), as well as to the revenue that should have been received by the states in the form of taxes and VAT, we come up with €43.3 billion in losses and 518,000 jobs lost. In the field of perfumes and cosmeticsIn the EU, sales of counterfeit products account for 7.8% of total EU sales. This amounts to a loss of 4.7 billion for companies in the sector, and about 51 000 jobs lost. Extensively, including the losses of suppliers and the state, this amounts to a loss of more than 11 billion euros and 80 000 jobs. The full reports are available in French at the Observatory's website.