Trade and counterfeit

Résumé du document

Counterfeiting and piracy are terms used to describe a range of illicit activities linked to intellectual property rights infringement. It includes violation of trademarks, copyrights, patents, design rights, as well as a number of related rights.
Counterfeiting of goods can be seen as one of the most significant drawback of globalization economy. This widespread parallel economy perfectly succeeded in integrating itself to the economic globalization. But the phenomenon is much more complex that what we can see in newspapers or in stores during holidays.
The huge amount of money generated by the trade of counterfeited goods all around the world underlines the emergency to tackle the issue as soon as possible. Above all, counterfeiting of goods asks several question on economic or public health.

Extraits

[...] Industrial sectors are more and more threatened by counterfeit. Indeed, if we all have heard about the piracy of digital files (music, software, ) almost all industrial sectors are now dealing with the issue of counterfeit. Here's a non exhaustive list of goods that are subject to intellectual property rights infringements: car parts, apparel, footwear, designers' clothes, chemicals, consumers' electronic, pharmaceuticals, food, drink, agricultural products, personal accessories (jewels, watches, tobacco and alcohol, toys, sanitary products, Digital piracy remains the most known aspect of counterfeit in globalization. [...]

[...] The vaccines were received as a gift from a country which thought they were safe. - 89 children died in Haiti in 1995 and 30 infants died in India in 1998 due to the consumption of paracetamol cough syrup prepared with diethylene glycol toxic chemical used in antifreeze) Repression against intellectual rights infringements In order to tackle the problem of counterfeit and piracy, governments and industries have made several efforts, passing through legal frameworks and multilateral organizations. Two main aspects of the struggle against counterfeit are well-known: technologic advances and legal tools. [...]

[...] Exporting goods is more difficult for companies when counterfeited items are drowning markets. An European study revealed that counterfeit business represents a loss of 1,3 billion euros for clothes and apparel firms, when pirated software represent a loss of 3 billion euros for the European Union companies. The phenomenon also has impacts on unemployment. The OECD has estimated that people became unemployed directly due to counterfeited productions. Indeed such a business has consequences on official companies' productions, which tend to decrease. [...]

[...] In 2002, the Times Magazine published a very interesting survey on the counterfeit business. A drug dealer who buy a kilo of marijuana will pay dollars to sell it in the streets dollars, making a 100% profit. But for dollars and much less risks, you can buy copies of Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Edition and make a 900% profit. II. Governments and international institutions' effort to tackle the issue Issues created by counterfeit on society Counterfeit of goods have many consequences on national economies, but it also influence consumers' behaviors and even asks public health questions. [...]

[...] Prosecutions on counterfeiting are also very complex. Counterfeit often, if not always, means worst quality. The huge gap between official and counterfeited products results from the use of cheaper tools and intermediate products to produce fake items. The problem does not seem very important for a fake bag, but what about counterfeited pharmaceuticals, food or beverages? The US food and Drug Administration estimates that nearly 10% of pharmaceuticals are counterfeited in the world. This is a real public health issue, especially for developing countries. [...]