Two new reports from the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), reveal that 13.5% of sales of jewellery and watches and 12.7% of sales of handbags and luggage in the EU are lost due to counterfeiting. Those lost sales translate into 27,000 jobs directly lost across the two sectors, as legitimate manufacturers employ fewer people than they would have done in the absence of counterfeiting. Moreover, the total yearly loss of government revenue as a result of counterfeit products in these sectors across the EU in terms of household income taxes, social security contributions, corporate income taxes and VAT can be estimated at €1.1 billion.

The economic cost of IPR infringement in the handbags and luggage sector study looks into direct and indirect industry revenue losses and job losses due to the presence of counterfeit products, as well as their impact on public finance.

The main findings of the study may be summarised as follows:

• 7% of sales lost by the sector due to counterfeiting
• €1.6 billion of revenue lost annually by the sector
• additional €1.6 billion of sales lost in related sectors
• 25,700 direct and indirect jobs lost
• €516 million of government revenue lost (social contributions and taxes)