AP Photo/Richard DrewCounterfeit Louis Vuitton bags are found in a shipment by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, including Gabriel Richardson, right, at H&M Terminals Transport Inc. warehouse, in Kearney, N.J.The counterfeit goods trade around the world is worth almost half a trillion dollars a year, according to a new report by the the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Unions Intellectual Property Office.
The value of imported fake goods worldwide stood at $461bn (325bn) in 2013, 2.5 per cent of the total imports in world trade of $17.9 trillion.
The report found that most of the counterfeits originate in middle income or emerging countries, with China the top producer accounting condos for rent in singapore a whopping 63.2 per cent of customs seizures between 2011 and 2013.
The second-biggest producer of fake goods is Turkey, accounting for 3.3 per cent of customs seizure, followed by Singapore with 1.9 per cent, Thailand at 1.6 per cent, India making up 1.2 per cent, and Morocco with 0.6 per cent, to complete the top five.
As much as five per cent of goods imported into the European Union are fakes, with US, Italian and French brands the hardest hit. Footwear was revealed to be the most copied item.
Just before Christmas last year the UK was hit by a plague of fake so-called hoverboards, that were found to be highly dangerous and at risk of exploding.
Doug Frantz, OECD deputy secretary general, said:
"The findings of this new report contradict the image that counterfeiters only hurt big companies and luxury goods manufacturers. They take advantage of our trust in trademarks and brand names to undermine economies and endanger lives."
The US is home to most brands or patents affected by knock-offs, with 20 per cent of items seized infringing on intellectual property rights of American brands.
REUTERS/Aly Song
Italian companies were victims of 15 per cent of infringements, while France and Switzerland made up 12 per cent each. Japan and Germany stood at eight per cent of the total followed by the UK and Luxembourg.
It was found that postal parcels are the top method of shipping bogus goods, accounting for 62 per cent of seizures over 2011-13.
The OECD and the European Unions Intellectual Property Office put this down to the growing use of online shopping to buy fakes as shoppers abandon the high street.