ZAGREB, 8 June, 2021 - Nine percent of Europeans and seven percent of Croatians have been misled into buying counterfeit products, according to a survey released by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Tuesday.

The study, entitled "European Citizens and Intellectual Property", shows that consumers find it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake products.

Nearly one in ten Europeans claimed that they were misled into buying counterfeits, but there were considerable differences between EU member states. 19% of Bulgarians, 16% of Romanians and 15% of Hungarians said they were deceived, compared to 2% of Swedes and 3% of Danes.

Croatia was below the EU average, with 7% of its citizens saying they were misled into buying counterfeit products.

According to Eurostat, over 70% of Europeans shopped online in 2020, and uncertainty regarding counterfeit products has become a growing concern for consumer protection, the study showed.

Counterfeit products represent 6.8 % of EU imports worth €121 billion and impact every sector, from cosmetics and toys, wine and beverages, electronics and clothing to pesticides and pharmaceutical products. They pose serious risks to the health and safety of citizens as they usually do not comply with quality and safety standards.

The study says that the worldwide trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products has been estimated at €4 billion. Digital piracy also represents a highly lucrative market for infringers. Just in the area of internet protocol television (IPTV), €1 billion of unlawful revenue is generated every year by the
supply and consumption of copyright-infringing digital content in the EU, harming creators and
legitimate businesses.

Counterfeiting affects not only consumers, but it also causes considerable damage to the EU
economy, notably small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One in four SMEs and 21.7% of SMEs in Croatia said they suffered damage on account of intellectual property rights infringement, according to the study.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, June 14, 2020 - Croatia annually loses HRK 835 million in sales income due to counterfeiting and piracy in key economic sectors, EUIPO, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, has recently stated.

The EUIPO office, based in Alicante, Spain, is responsible for managing the EU trademark and the registered Community design.

Its latest annual report covers the sectors of pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, spirits and wines, and toys and games.

For instance, sales of counterfeit pharmaceutical products lead to an annual loss of HRK 394 million, and in the whole of the EU, the damage is estimated at HRK 45 billion.

When it comes to cosmetic and personal care products, counterfeit products cause losses for Croatia in the amount of 315 million kunas, which is 14.7% of sales revenues. In the EU, the sales of counterfeit cosmetics and personal care products adversely affect 14.1 percent of the sales in that segment, which is equivalent to an annual loss of HRK 71.7 billion.

In the spirits and wines segment, Croatia's annual loss is estimated at 77 million kunas, whereas in the EU the loss is estimated at HRK 17.1 billion.

Sales of counterfeit toys cause a loss of HRK 49 million in Croatia and HRK 7.1 billion in the EU.

"Counterfeiting is not a victimless crime," EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau said in a statement. "Fake products take sales away from legitimate businesses and deprive governments of much-needed revenue. They carry clear health and safety risks for those who use them," he was quoted as saying.