How leading companies are affected by counterfeiting and IP infringement

Illicit trade in counterfeit goods arguably constitutes the single biggest black market, larger than the global narcotics trade. Despite its enormous scale, it remains relatively underprioritised by lawmakers, enforcement agencies and researchers. An acute lack of data is a key factor behind its low level of political prioritisation.

This study aims to fill some of the information gap, by providing an insight into how leading Swedish companies are affected by counterfeiting and intellectual property infringement.

Of the participating companies listed on the NASDAQ OMX 30 Stockholm index whose core activities could be subject to counterfeiting and intellectual property theft: – 100 percent of companies were affected by intellectual property right infringement

• 75 percent of companies subjected to counterfeiting stated that counterfeiting of their products implied risks to human health and safety
• 73 percent stated that counterfeiting and IP theft had increased in the past 5 years
• 80 percent stated that counterfeiting will increase in the next 5 years – China was identified as the largest source of counterfeit products by all companies
• 80 percent of companies stated that the government is not doing enough and should do more to combat counterfeiting and IP theft