Trade in counterfeit and pirated products has grown steadily in recent years – even as overall trade volumes have stagnated. They now represent 3.3% of world trade, according to a new report from the OECD and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office in 2019.
According to the latest studies on counterfeit and pirated products, the value of counterfeits imported into the world based on customs seizure data peaked in 2016 at $ 509 billion, compared to $ 461 billion in 2013.
For the European Union, the counterfeit trade represented 6.8% of imports from third countries in 2016, against 5% in 2013. Worse, these figures do not include counterfeits produced and consumed in the country, nor pirated products distributed over the Internet.
To fight against this rapidly growing phenomenon, the luxury sector has invested heavily in ultra-sophisticated technological solutions (Internet of Objects, Big Data, Machine Learning, etc.). He is also lobbying governments to expand the powers of law enforcement agencies to seize and destroy counterfeit products, prosecute buyers and dealers, and block access to websites that sell products. counterfeit.
Despite this, these efforts are not bearing fruit, in particular due to increased competition, the absence of common standards in this sector and of effective laws, proportional to the stakes.
Fake luxury goods represent 60 to 70% of the total counterfeit market, ahead of pharmaceuticals and entertainment products as shown in the following diagram (source: OECD – Trends in Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods – March 2019)
