The 26th of April is the World Intellectual Property Day. It has been celebrated since the 2000 when member states decided to declare it as a notable date, on which in 1970 the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation entered into force.
This year, the day is dedicated to innovations and creativity. Thanks to the trademarked original brands and technologies, we as consumers can make an informed choice of our new products and technologies. The data collected by the European Union Intellectual Property Office points that European citizens are becoming more attentive to the risks and consequences of counterfeit products and the content coming from illegal sources.
We have come to the collective agreement that counterfeit goods are benefitting criminal organisations and damaging the business and workplaces, as well as presenting a risk to people’s health, safety, and the environment. For example, in 2023 alone, European Union countries have recorded an inflow of counterfeit goods worth over 16 billion euro, which were the direct cause of over 200 thousand people losing their jobs.
Nevertheless, European citizens still knowingly purchase fakes – mostly cosmetics, clothing, shoes, and automobile parts. Their percentage is the highest in Bulgaria (24%), Spain (20%), Ireland (19%), Luxembourg (19%), and Romania (18%).