According to the European Commission’s new “Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries,” clothing and footwear remain the most pirated goods. The report is aimed particularly at small and medium-size enterprises based in the EU and doing business abroad. It underscores the importance of IP “infrastructure” to cover the legal recognition, registration, use and enforcement of intellectual-property rights (IPR). The Commission cites another 2019 report, from the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), according to which the clothing and footwear sector in the EU lost €28.4 billion in revenues from 2012 to 2016 to IPR infringement. Pharmaceuticals came in second place, with €9.6 billion in lost revenue. Apparently, more than 80 percent of the counterfeit goods seized by EU customs come from China and Hong Kong. The so-called “priority two” countries are India, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. In this edition of the report, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have joined Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Malaysia and Thailand in the “priority three” category.

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