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IPR infringement bleeding European textile industry

23 Jul '15
2 min read

A new report of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHMI) on the economic cost of IPR infringement in the clothing, footwear and accessory sector reveals that annually the industry loses more than €26 billion ($28 billion) of revenue which leads to over 500,000 job losses, according to a statement by Euratex, the European apparel and textile confederation.

For many years now, the textile and clothing industry represented by Euratex, alerts the EU institutions and the national authorities about the disastrous consequences of counterfeiting and piracy for the European textile industry and for the whole European economy.

The OHMI report shows that the costs of IPR infringement borne by the European economy in terms of job losses, loss of profit and even, in some cases, closures of SMEs are very high. According to the report 9.7 per cent of sales are lost by the sector due to counterfeiting. The sector also suffers annual revenue loss of €26.3 billion ($28 billion) and €17 billion ($19 billion) of sales are lost in related sectors. Over 500,000 jobs have been lost while €8.1 billion ($9 billion) of government revenue have been lost in social contributions and taxes.

To overcome the challenges facing the textiles and clothing industry, Euratex has urged the EU to take concrete actions as regards the three essential aspects of the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

The first is to combat the phenomenon within the boundaries of the EU; secondly, appropriate steps need to be taken to ensure that imported counterfeit textiles and clothing are intercepted and perpetrators are brought to justice. And the last, exporters of European products to third countries need assurances that their designs will enjoy all necessary protection on the markets of those countries as required by the WTO TRIPs agreement, the statement said. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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