Responding to concerns in governments and the business community, the OECD launched a project in 2005 to assess the magnitude and impact of counterfeiting and piracy. The objective of the project was to improve factual understanding and awareness of how large the problem is and the effects that infringements of intellectual property rights have on governments, business and consumers in member countries and non-member economies. This study develops and applies a rigorous methodology to estimate the incidence of counterfeit and pirated items in world trade. This methodology can be used in the future to refine the assessment as the quality and quantity of data improve. The study also provides an analysis of the market for counterfeit and pirated goods and the effects on various affected parties, ranging from the owners of the intellectual property rights, to consumers and governments. The study also provides a number of in-depth snapshots of different industry sectors, highlighting how...
