The studies, published in February by the EU Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), deal with the economic consequences of product and brand piracy in the EU. The shocking result: The jewelry and watch branch suffers annual revenue losses of some 1.9 billion euro (13.5%) due to counterfeiting; the handbag and luggage branch some 1.6 billion euro (12.7%).
Additionally, around 27,000 jobs are lost in these two branches as a direct result of piracy. If one considers related fields of employment, twice as many jobs are lost. „The jewellery and watches sector and the handbags and luggage sector in the EU are overwhelmingly made up of micro-enterprises, which employ fewer than ten people. Such businesses are particularly vulnerable to the economic effects of counterfeiting,“ explained António Campinos, President of the OHIM.
As the largest producer of wrist watches within the EU, Germany is particularly affected by the negative consequences of product piracy. Each year watch and jewelry manufacturers lose some 247 million euro in revenue, which corresponds to around 14.5% of annual total revenue in this industry sector. German handbag and luggage manufacturers mark losses of 13.9% with additional annual revenue losses of 231 million euro. In comparison with the rest of the EU countries, Germany takes an unfortunate second place.
The analyses of piracy in the jewelry and watch as well as the handbag and luggage branches are part of a series of studies in which the OHIM seeks to make the negative effects of counterfeiting clear. Previous reports in this series – covered in previous issues of the newsletter – dealt with clothing, cosmetics, sport devices, as well as games and toys.
Meanwhile, the OHIM stands before important changes: With Regulation (EU) 2015/2424, the office will become the new European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The Community Trade Mark will then be referred to as the Union Trade Mark. This change is part of the EU trade mark reform packet.
