The European Union’s toy industry loses €1 billion a year in sales to counterfeiters! Counterfeiting also means fewer jobs: 3,600 fewer in the toy sector alone.
The toy sector suffers an overall loss of 8.7%, with double-digit percentages in more than half of the EU countries. With 334 million in lost sales, Germany is the country most affected by counterfeit toys, accounting for one third of all lost sales in the EU in the toy sector.
These are findings of a study published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) which looks at the economic impact of counterfeiting on the toy, clothing and cosmetics sectors.
In addition to the financial losses and the impact on the labour market, the report notes that counterfeiting, including in the toy sector, can pose significant health and safety risks to consumers. Such potentially harmful products account for 15% of counterfeit goods seized at the EU’s external borders, according to an EUIPO threat assessment on intellectual property crime in 2022.
So the effective protection of products through intellectual property law is of great importance to the toy industry.
Neem contact op