The European Observatory for Intellectual Property Rights infringements has published a third report on the impact of counterfeiting on the EU economy. For information on the first two reports, please refer to our previous articles:<\/p>\n
It should be remembered that the aim of these studies is to make the public aware of the economic damage generated in Europe by counterfeiting, in an already gloomy context, and thus to encourage them not to resort to it.<\/p>\n
This time, the report covers the games and toys sector (excluding consoles, video games and bicycles): dolls, figurines, cuddly toys, playful musical instruments, playing cards, board games, electronic games, scale models, construction games, puzzles, billiards or children's casino machines, etc.). It should also be noted that this report deals only with the manufacture of these games and toys, and not with the distribution branch (retail or wholesale).<\/p>\n
Here again, the results are edifying: it is estimated that 1.4 billion euros<\/strong> annual losses suffered by the sector as a result of the introduction of counterfeit games and toys on the market. This amounts to 12.3% of sales<\/strong> of the sector. Furthermore, the Observatory believes that 6150<\/strong> the number ofjobs<\/strong> lost as a result of this forgery.<\/p>\n But the Observatory does not stop there and takes its analysis a step further by calculating the losses also suffered by related industries (those supplying the raw material, for example) and by public authorities as a result of the failure to collect direct or indirect taxes in connection with these counterfeit products. The losses incurred amount to 2.3 billion euros<\/strong>s for the European economy, 370 million euros<\/strong> for government revenues, and 13168 jobs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n According to the Observatory's estimates, the countries in which counterfeiting of games and toys has the highest incidence are Germany, Italy, France and Spain, which account for 60% of lost sales. The country with the most job losses is Germany, with more than 1500 job losses.<\/p>\n