A NEW study by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OAMI) based in Alicante, has warned of the impact of counterfeit sporting goods.
The report said that the manufacturing of counterfeited sporting goods in the EU causes an economic impact of €500 million in the countries and a strong impact on employment estimated at 2,800 jobs, as manufacturers sold less than they could sell if there were no fake goods sold and therefore hire fewer staff.
The greatest impacts are seen in France and Spain. In Spain, the manufacture of pirated sporting goods like footballs, helmets, tennis rackets, skis and fitness equipment, cost the industry €76 million a year. Each year €360 million is lost in the whole EU by the indirect effects of counterfeit sports equipment.
The report published by the Office through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, also shows that governments lose €150 million per year as a result of these type of counterfeits. The president of the European agency said in this sense, that “every day millions of people across the EU practice and enjoy sport. However, very few are aware of the economic harm caused by counterfeit sports equipment. In this series of reports we investigated the effects of counterfeiting in connection with the loss of income and jobs, sector by sector, to provide a complete picture of those responsible for policy development and EU citizens.”
