Billions of items counterfeited in August: Report

Released on = October 4, 2005, 9:50 pm

Press Release Author = Gieschen Consultancy

Industry = International Trade

Press Release Summary = Counterfeit and piracy seizures and losses for August exceeded $251 Billion (USD), as reported by Gieschen Consultancy. Intellectual property theft incidents (trademark infringement and copyright violations) jumped more than 370%.

Press Release Body = Wednesday October 5, 2005 -- Calgary, Canada -- Based on worldwide counterfeit enforcement activity (investigations, raids, seizures, arrests, charges, convictions, sentences, civil litigation) for month of August 2005, as reported through the DOPIP Security Counterfeit Intelligence Report, more
than 309 incidents valued at $251,931,905,720 (US Dollars) were analyzed from 53 countries.

The top 10 countries reporting intellectual property violations:

1. USA, $76 Million (USD) seizures and losses.
2. France, 9.7 Million.
3. UK, $4.9 Million.
4. Russia, $3.9 Million.
5. China, $3.0 Million.
6. Pakistan, $0.5 Million.
7. Mexico, $0.5 Million.
8. Czech Republic, $0.4 Million.
9. India, $0.4 Million.
10. Malaysia, $0.3 Million.

Other countries include Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Malta, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the UAE.

The top 20 countries pursuing all forms of counterfeiting and pirate activity (documents, identification and intellectual property):

1. USA, 122 incidents, $76 Million (USD) seizures and losses.
2. India, 32 incidents, $0.6 Million.
3. UK, 30 incidents, $4.9 Million.
4. Bangladesh, 9 incidents.
5. Philippines, 7 incidents, $1.8 Billion.
6. Malaysia, 7 incidents.
7. China, 6 incidents, $250 Billion.
8. Pakistan, 6 incidents, $0.5 Million.
9. Canada, 6 incidents.
10. Australia, 6 incidents.
11. France, 5 incidents, $9.7 Million.
12. Russia, 4 incidents, $3.9 Million.
13. Malta, 4 incidents.
14. Vietnam, 4 incidents.
15. Singapore, 4 incidents.
16. New Zealand, 4 incidents.
17. Thailand, 3 incidents, $0.5 Million.
18. Czech Republic, 3 incidents.
19. Nigeria, 3 incidents.
20. Japan, 3 incidents.

For more information: http://www.goldsec.com/Security_Research.htm

The most popular items to counterfeit:

1. Financial Instruments, 127 incidents worth $252 Billion.
2. Entertainment & Software, 53 incidents worth $6,2 Million.
3. Identification, 45 incidents.
4. Clothing & Accessories, 22 incidents worth $27.7 Million.
5. Other Documents, 16 incidents worth $1.2 Million.
6. Drugs & Medical, 12 incidents worth $0.5 Million
7. Cigarettes & Tobacco Products, 10 incidents worth $61 Million.
8. Industrial Goods & Supplies, 6 incidents worth $1.8 Million.
9. Toys, 3 incidents worth $0.5 Million.
10. Perfume & Cosmetics, 3 incidents.
11. Food & Alcohol, 3 incidents.
12. Electronic Equipment & Supplies, 3 incidents.
13. Jewelry & Watches, 2 incidents worth $2.0 Million.
14. Other Goods, 2 incidents.
15. Computer Equipment & Supplies, 1 incidents.

The top 10 brands counterfeited:

1. Louis Vuitton.
2. Chanel.
3. Lacoste.
4. Christian Dior.
5. Gucci.
6. Nike.
7. Oakley.
8. Prada.
9. Adidas.
10. Coach.

The top 10 items counterfeited:

1. Currency.
2. Films.
3. Music.
4. Passports.
5. Checks.
6. Medicine.
7. Handbags.
8. Software.
9. Social Security Cards.
10. Cigarettes.

In summarizing the activity for the month of August, Glen Gieschen, Managing Director of Gieschen Consultancy stated "The seizure and loss values for August jumped above the Billion dollar range for the 2nd month this year. As occurred in 2004, counterfeit activity increases dramatically during months when seasonal spending increases. In particular, 24% of counterfeit goods sold were traced to
season markets, street vendors, and car boot sales. This increase was also supported by larger than expected incidents of intellectual property theft. Fake brands and pirated goods increased 370% on average, accounting for more than $100 Million worth of seizures, compared to $162 Million for the first half of 2005.

To understand the magnitude of the problem, in the first 8 months of 2005, more than 2,678 incidents of counterfeiting and piracy were linked to the seizure of 1.26 billion items valued in excess of $3.25 Trillion. In addition, further investigations, as a result of these seizures, indicated more then 960 million bogus items had already been sold for approximately $900 Million. It was also found that
in 55% of the cases, counterfeiters are using China to manufacturing fakes and exported more than $70 Million to other countries."

About Gieschen Consultancy

Gieschen Consultancy, provides counterfeit intelligence analysis and security research relating to documents, products and intellectual property. Gieschen Consultancy educates clients regarding counterfeiting issues, and assists in developing anti-counterfeiting, brand protection and enforcement solutions. Providing the knowledge of the criminal Modus Operandi (methods of operation), legal and political issues, security technology, industry reports and statistical
information, effective strategies can then be developed, implemented and monitored.

For more information visit http://www.gieschen.com/.

About DOPIP SCI Reports

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For more information visit http://www.goldsec.com/Security_Updates.htm.

Web Site = http://www.gieschen.com/

Contact Details = Glen Gieschen
Managing Director
Gieschen Consultancy
Glen@Gieschen.com
Phone 403-256-5680
Calgary, Alberta Canada