Just Published: New Joint Report on Risks of Illicit Trade in Counterfeits to SMEs

Today's globalized and innovation-driven economy faces a serious and growing challenge from the illegal trade in counterfeit goods. Its detrimental effects on innovation, economic growth, the rule of law, and ultimately, confidence in efficiently operating global markets, should not be underestimated.

Joining forces with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has just published a new report that analyses the economic impact of illicit trade in counterfeit goods on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also provides a deeper dive into the data on the nature of this threat in the EU context.

According to the report, Chinese counterfeit goods are by far the most common source of counterfeit goods that violate the IP of SMEs. Electrical equipment, electronics, clothing, perfumes, cosmetics, toys, and games continue to be the most commonly targeted fake goods. Moreover, a lot of these products are substandard, frequently endangering the health and safety of consumers.

You can access to the full report here.