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.

Between 2005 and 2008, computer manufacturer HP conducted 4,620 counterfeit investigations that lead to over seizures of counterfeit products worth nearly $800 Million.

Source:  Brandon Bailey, “HP says stolen components found in ink cartridges sold on-line,” San Jose Mercury News, March 8, 2010.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Brand Protection firm MarkMonitor estimates that Internet sellers are earning $137 Billion a year from selling counterfeit goods online.

Source:  Warwick Ashford, “Online counterfeits pose risk to buyers and manufacturers,” Computer Weekly, January 26, 2010.

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.