Market Data: Counterfeit and Piracy
Cigarette smuggling in Taiwan
Taiwan loses up to $156 Million (5 Billion Taiwan Dollars) in lost taxes due to cigarette smuggling activities.
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation states that almost 10 percent of the cigarette market in Taiwan consists of smuggled cigarettes.
Source: “New way of cigarette smuggling discovered,” The China Post, March 9, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 8th, 2010
- Tags: cigarette smuggling, Taiwan
Number of counterfeit HP products seized over 3 years
Between 2005 and 2008, computer manufacturer HP conducted 4,620 counterfeit investigations that lead to over seizures of counterfeit products worth nearly $800 Million.
- No Comments » |March 8th, 2010
- Tags: counterfeit electronics
Spending by US firms to combat counterfeiting
The largest US companies spend between $2 Million to $4 Million a year to combat counterfeit activities.
Source: “Knock-offs catch on,” The Economist, March 4, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 4th, 2010
- Tags: counterfeit protection
Counterfeit Louis Vuitton seizures in 2009
In 2009, luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton initiated action that lead to nearly 9,500 seizures of counterfeit goods bearing their logo. The total counterfeit goods seized was 31 percent higher than the 2008 total.
Source: “Knock-offs catch on,” The Economist, March 4, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 4th, 2010
- Tags: counterfeit purses
P2P usage down in 2009
Illegal downloading activity through the use of P2P networks decreased by 25 percent from the previous year in 2009.
Source: Greg Sandoval, “P2P music use down; users may be stuffed,” CNet News, Media Maverick, March 1, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 2nd, 2010
- Tags: internet piracy, movie piracy, music piracy
Counterfeit electronic parts in the defense industry
A report by the US Commerce Department in January 2010 reported 9,356 incidents of counterfeit electronic parts found within the defense industry, an increase of over 100 percent from the 3,868 found in 2005.
Source: Rachel King, “Fighting a Flood of Counterfeit Tech Products,” BusinessWeek, March 1, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 2nd, 2010
- Tags: counterfeit electronics
Impact of piracy on porn industry
Web video hosting sites similar to YouTube has severely impacted the porn industry, according to executives. In 2009, DVD sales decreased by 20 percent, with piracy playing a key role.
There are up to 1,000 “tubes” sites that either play pirated movies or amateur content. Industry leader Vivid Entertainment stated that it sends several hundreds of take down notices to websites that are pirating their content.
Source: Jon Swartz, “Free porn on ‘tube sites’ puts a big dent in industry,” USA Today, March 2, 2010.
- No Comments » |March 2nd, 2010
- Tags: internet piracy
Half of all Internet traffic in UK is filesharing
Creative industries in the United Kingdom claim that up to 50 percent of all Internet traffic in the country is file-sharing activities.
Source: Robert Verkaik, “Internet piracy crackdown by US studios,” Independent, March 1, 2010.
- 1 Comment » |February 28th, 2010
- Tags: internet piracy, United Kingdom
$137 Billion of counterfeit goods sold online
Brand Protection firm MarkMonitor estimates that Internet sellers are earning $137 Billion a year from selling counterfeit goods online.
- No Comments » |February 26th, 2010
- Tags: internet piracy
2010 Counterfeit Goods Seizures at the NBA All-Star Game
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that more than 4,000 pieces of counterfeit NBA items worth an estimated $200,000 was seized during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas, Texas.
Source: Associated Press, “Nearly $200,000 in fake NBA gear seized,” NBC Sports, February 15, 2010.
- No Comments » |February 18th, 2010
- Tags: counterfeit sports goods

