Bulgaria Loses Over BGN 800 Million Each Year from Counterfeits

According to a new assessment by the EUIPO, annual losses due to counterfeiting and piracy in 11 major EU economic sectors amount to 117 billion leva each year. According to the updated analysis, total losses amount to 7.4% of all sales in the following industries: cosmetics and personal care, clothing, footwear and accessories; Sport goods; toys and games; jewelery and watches; handbags and luggage; music recordings; spirits and wines; pharmaceutical products; pesticides and smartphones.

Given that legitimate producers produce less than they would produce in the absence of counterfeiting and therefore provide jobs for fewer workers, the analysis estimates that these industries in the EU are directly losing up to 468,000 jobs .

Bulgaria:

In Bulgaria annual losses due to counterfeiting and piracy are estimated at 809 million leva, equivalent to 15.5% of sales in the 11 industries. If considered as a whole, according to the analysis, the total value of unrealized sales in Bulgaria is equivalent to BGN 113 per Bulgarian citizen per year. This is the second sectoral assessment by the EUIPO of the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy in key economic sectors known to be vulnerable to infringements of intellectual property rights.

The survey estimates that since the first analysis in 2018, unrealized sales have decreased in all EU-surveyed sectors, except for two: clothing, footwear and accessories, and cosmetics and personal hygiene.