Masks, drugs, online sales The counterfeiting does not know the crisis

They will have taken advantage of the health crisis to diversify their activity.According to a study published this Tuesday by the Office of the European Union for Intellectual Property (EUIPO), the share of counterfeits in imports of the European Union amounted to 6.8% in 2020, that is to sayNearly 121 billion euros.

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The study embraces a very wide panel of sectors, from toys cosmetics, via wine, drinks, electronics, clothing or even pesticides.But, thanks to the health crisis, many products were added to this list of counterfeits.Among them, pharmaceutical and medical products.Their share in world trade is estimated at 4 billion euros.

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83 billion euros each year

"The proliferation of counterfeit drugs, such as antibiotics and painkillers, as well as other medical products, such as personal protective equipment and facial masks, highlighted this phenomenon insofar as counterfeiters benefit from the'Uncertainty of citizens concerning new treatments and vaccines, ”underlines the Euipo, who notes a routing of these illicit products by postal and messaging services.

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In its study, Euipo also deplores an upsurge during the first months of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020, online discussions linked to hacking.The European Office, which has analyzed millions of public discussions on social networks, estimates that "a third of conversations on digital content could concern hacking, films and music being the most discussed piracy areas, inParticularly on Reddit and Twitter ”, two very popular social networks.

This traffic in illicit products has consequences for both consumers and victims.Euipo estimates the losses made, for 11 sectors vulnerable to counterfeiting, at 83 billion euros in sales.To this are added tax losses and social security contributions valued at 15 billion euros.6,70,000 jobs in the counterfeit sectors would also be concerned.

Last November, Euipo noted a decline in the intentional purchase of counterfeiting in Europe, from 7 to 5%.This decline was also worth access to hacked equipment.10% of citizens aged 15 to 24, twice the European average, at the time admitted to intentionally acquired counterfeiting products.