Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia and Equipment

Summary

The Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia and Equipment market consists of two separate but related industries. The Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia market consists of products that claim to be team  or  player  products  but are not authentic. Counterfeit Sports Equipment products are items that are sold under brand names without the authority of the copyright holders.

50 percent of the $1 billion sports memorabilia industry is counterfeited.

View all Counterfeit and Piracy Products

Market Value:
$500 Million

Source:  US Department of Justice, " Three year FBI and IRS Investigation reveals nationwide black market dealing in hundreds of million of dollars in counterfeit sports and celebrity memorabilia" , Press Release, April 12, 2000, http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/sports.htm (accessed: April 18, 2006), and Marshall Loeb, " Look out for fake sports memorabilia" , MarketWatch, September 19, 2005.