Research results have been published on negative effects of counterfeiting in the sector of manufacture of spirits and wine

Photo : FreeImages.com/Sacha Leclair

The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights at EUIPO has published the eighth study in a series of economic studies dealing with the impact of problems regarding the infringements of intellectual property rights in individual industrial sectors in the European Union, originally titled: “The economic cost of IPR infringement in spirits and wine”.

The study gives an overview of losses in the EU Member States as a consequence of counterfeiting in the spirits and wine manufacturing sectors, job losses related to the mentioned sectors, losses in public finances or government revenues of the EU Member States resulting from these illegal activities.

The study shows that sales losses on the EU level due to the manufacturing of counterfeit spirits and wine amount to €1.3 billion annually. The sales lost as a consequence of counterfeiting in these industrial sectors on an annual level in the EU states amount to 4.4% of legitimate spirits sale and 2.3% of legitimate wine sale. The lost sales resulting from counterfeiting are the highest in Spain amounting to €263 million per year. The sales losses in the mentioned sectors are also related to a direct loss of 4,815 jobs, with Spain suffering the highest employment losses, followed by Romania, Bulgaria and France.

In addition to the losses observed in the sector under research, there are also indirect negative impacts considered both on other production segments in the EU and the loss in public finances. Taking the aforementioned in account, the study presents total employment losses being much higher and amounting to 23,300 jobs, since counterfeiting in these two sectors influences employment in agriculture (8,600 jobs), food industry (6,100 jobs), trade, transport etc. Furthermore, the study presents data on revenue losses suffered by governments due to tax evasion and this loss for EU 28 is estimated at €1.2 billion per year.

The study contains a detailed account of methodology used in the research as well.

The study is available at the following link.

Datum novosti: 6.9.2016.