Finland incurs loss of €328m annually due to counterfeiting, piracy

The annual losses due to counterfeiting and piracy in Finland are estimated at EUR 328 million, equivalent to 3.7% of sales in the 11 sectors, according to a new estimate from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The losses in the EU at up to EUR 60 billion each year, said a press release.

Taken as a whole, the total value of the lost sales in Finland is equivalent to EUR 60 per Finnish citizen per year, according to the analysis.

This is the second sector-wide assessment of the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy in key economic sectors known to be vulnerable to intellectual property rights infringement released by the EUIPO.

The study estimates that, since the first analysis in 2018, the amount of lost sales has dropped at EU level in all but two of the sectors studied: clothing, accessories and footwear; and cosmetics and personal care.

The clothing, footwear and accessories sector:

The clothing, footwear and accessories sector is the largest of all the sectors studied in terms of sales volume and employment.

According to the estimate, the sector has EU-wide lost sales equivalent to approximately EUR 28.4 billion each year, or 9.7% of all sales.

In Finland, lost sales in the clothing, footwear and accessories sector due to counterfeiting are estimated at around EUR 141 million annually, or around 5% of sales.

The cosmetics and personal care sector:

The presence of counterfeit goods in the marketplace leads to an estimated loss of EUR 7 billion per year for the cosmetic and personal care sector in the EU, according to the report. This is equivalent to 10.6% of all sales in the sector.

In Finland, the estimated loss for the cosmetics and personal care sector is EUR 42 million, equivalent to 7.7% of all sales in the sector.

“Europe depends on industrial sectors like the 11 sectors studied here for its growth and job creation. But our research work shows how counterfeiting and piracy can put growth and jobs at risk. We carry out this analysis, and our wider body of research, to support policy makers in devising solutions to this problem, and to help make EU consumers aware of the economic consequences of counterfeiting and piracy at a wider level,” the Executive Director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau, said.

The estimates are contained in the 2019 Status Report on IPR Infringement, released on Thursday, which brings together EUIPO’s reporting work at EU and at global level.

It includes research on the volume of counterfeit and pirated goods in international trade, as well as showing the economic contribution of intellectual property-rights intensive industries to economic growth and jobs. The report also contains new research outlining how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that use intellectual property rights like trade marks, designs and patents have a greater probability of achieving high-growth than other SMEs.