Still considered all too often as a minor infringement, industrial and commercial counterfeiting represents 5 to 7% of world trade. The trafficking that it generates is becoming a serious threat for both the global economy and sustainable development, as employment legislation and environmental protection are the least of the counterfeiters’ concerns (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 4-9).
While counterfeiting harms its corporate victims by ruining innovation and damaging employment, it also affects consumers, who put their health at risk by buying products that do not meet safety standards. Counterfeiting also reduces government tax revenues by creating a growth shortfall over time.
The problem of counterfeiting was raised again recently at the World Economic Forum held in Davos from 23rd to 28th January 2003, which reiterated that for several years counterfeiting has been controlled by criminal organizations and even terrorist groups. Summit participants also stressed the need to establish the extent to which counterfeiting finances terrorist and criminal activities and to strengthen penalties under the criminal law in certain countries where counterfeiting continues to go unpunished.
According to European customs statistics, nearly 100 million products were seized in 2001, i.e. 39% more than in 2000. Globally, an OECD report published in 1998 estimated that counterfeiting was generating $250 billion in illegal earnings annually and represented 5 to 7% of world trade, while a press release issued by the World Customs Organization on 27th January 2003 valued unlawful trade at $450 billion. To take just one example, sales of pirate CDs represented 28% of total sales in 2001, compared with 20% in 2000. Counterfeiting hits every sector, particularly information technology, the audiovisual sector, the toy industry, perfumery, pharmaceuticals and the motor industry (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 9-12).
The first victims of counterfeiting are businesses, which not only lose sales revenue, market share and.....
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