Effects of counterfeit products

Trade in counterfeit goods is an important factor in the underground economy. Therefore, and in order to fight unfair or illegal trading, in recent years the Spanish Tax Office has set up programmes to monitor imports, especially those from Asia as it has been detected that most counterfeit goods come from this part of the world (89% last year). During 2011, the Tax Office intercepted over 5.5 million counterfeit products, mainly clothing, sports shoes and electronic goods which amounted to 72% of the 5,800 seizures of counterfeit goods.

One of the priorities of the OEPM and ANDEMA is to increase public awareness about the damage caused by counterfeit goods and thus to encourage the rejection of such goods. They offer no type of guarantees nor quality control, they compete unfairly, they destroy jobs and may endanger consumer health (in the case of cosmetics, toys, etc.). Two campaigns are being run on social networks, “Marcas tu futuro” and “Yo soy original”, both of which can be seen on www.oepm.es.

Report on the impact of counterfeiting
The phenomenon of counterfeiting is a worldwide problem, as can be seen from the recent report published by the VDA, the German Engineering Foundation, on its impact in the economy. Over 400 companies participated in this report, according to which:

• More than two thirds of the companies (67%) are affected by the counterfeiting of their products or trademarks, which amounts to 9 out of every 10 companies with over 1,000 employees.
  
  
• Counterfeit products lead to losses for German engineering of 7.9 billion euros a year, about 37,000 jobs. This represents a 24% increase over 2010 (6.4 billion euros). Apart from the loss of profits and jobs, other losses which are more difficult to quantify include reputation, prestige and market size.
  
  
• Counterfeiters are distributing increasing amounts of counterfeit goods and are reaching more and more countries.
  
  
• Infringements of Industrial Property Rights through counterfeit goods and trademarks take the form of illegal reproductions (58%), patent violations (38%), violation of trademark rights (37%), of utility models (15%) and industrial designs (13%).
  
  
• The sectors that are most seriously affected, accounting for 91% of total counterfeit goods are:
  Textile machinery
  Compressors and compressed air and vacuum technologies
  Plastics and rubber technology
  
  
• 58% of the companies run awareness campaigns about counterfeiting among their own consumers, but 44% of companies do not take legal action against it.
  
  
• For the first time, China is no longer in the lead for the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit products although it is still the origin of 72% of counterfeit goods (in 2010, 79%) and of 37% of distribution of such goods (in 2010, 52%). It is followed in both cases by Germany and India.
  
  
• The most common measures used by the companies to fight counterfeiting are the Industrial Property Rights register for 76% (70% in 2010), caution in choosing partners for 63% and protection through know-how for 55%.
  
  
• 44% of the firms that detect counterfeiting or violation of their rights do not take legal measures. Only 41% follow out-of-court procedures, and just 32% take legal action.
  
  
• The barriers detected for the use of technology protection measures mostly stem from the idea held by companies that these are not applicable in reality and from lack of information about appropriate measures.

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