Counterfeit Harms

US customs reported that the number of seizures for counterfeiting products in 2003 increased by 12% over the prior year.

In the EU, the number of fake toys intercepted by customs in the first half of 2003 was already 56% higher than the total for 2002.

Customs seized almost 85 million counterfeit or pirated articles at the EU's external border in 2002 and 50 million in the first half of 2003. - European Commission Nov 2003.

Counterfeit goods were responsible for the loss of 100,000 jobs in Europe each year. - European Commission 1998, Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development 1998, ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau 1997.

In US, FBI estimated losses to counterfeiting at US$200-250 billion in 2003.

In 2003, the city of New York estimated it annually loses US$500 million in state sales taxes due to the sale of counterfeit goods.

In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that counterfeit drugs accounted for 10% of all pharmaceuticals, with the number rising to as high as 60% in developing countries.

Annual losses caused by counterfeiting of European cosmetics were estimated to exceed US$3 billion. - Study by the Centre for Economic Business Research, mentioned in Global Cosmetic Industry, November 1, 2003.

It is estimated that clothing and footwear companies lose EUR7.5 billion per year to counterfeiting, and software companies lose EUR3.8 billion per year in Western Europe alone. - World Customs Organization IPR Strategic Group, 2001.

The tobacco industry estimates that counterfeit cigarettes currently occupy 10% of global trade in their products, with the total number of fake cigarettes produced and sold each year being approximately 750 billion sticks.

As much as 20% of the clothes bought in Italy are fakes. Fake shoes and clothes reached EUR3.13 billion in 2002, and accounted for nearly 21% of all counterfeits produced and marketed in Italy in the same period. - Italian consumers association Intesa dei Consumatori in April 2004.

France's anti-counterfeit agency estimated that up to 10% car parts sold in Europe were fake in 2003.

In 2003, 10% of gasoline sold in Bulgaria was counterfeit.

The global automotive industry loses US$12 billion to counterfeiting, thereby resulting in the loss of 750,000 jobs. - The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) conducted a survey. Automotive News, November 24, 2003.

Spurious car parts took up an estimated 37% of the market in India.

In 2003, counterfeit car parts cost automobile makers around US$12 billion annually in lost sales, enough for the industry to take on an additional 200,000 workers.

In 2003, The Federal Aviation Authority estimated that 2% of the 26 million airline parts installed each year are counterfeit.

And, etc.