Estimating the counterfeit markets in Europe

Counterfeiting is a global phenomenon that threatens the economic stability and sustainable growth of countries. A growing number of researchers, stakeholders, and public or private institutions have been producing a wide variety of studies and estimates on counterfeit markets. However, these studies are varied in scope and sometimes based on unclear methodologies. This prevents comparisons across time and space. In recent decades, Transcrime has contributed to the development of transparent and rigorous methodologies for the analysis of illegal activities. This study presents an update of the approach used by Transcrime to estimate the size of the various counterfeit markets at EU level. It starts with a brief review of what is known about counterfeiting in the EU (i.e. routes, products, consumers and previous studies). It then proposes new estimates of the expenditures for ten different counterfeit markets in the 28 EU Member States using a demand-size approach. Finally, it discusses policy and research implications.