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.

May 6, 2018 - Croatia is one of the world champions in illegal downloading