Counterfeit Pesticides Market Value: $650 Million
Counterfeit Pesticides are chemicals that are produced and sold without the authority of brand owners.
5 to 7 percent of the EU Crop protection market is counterfeit, leading to a rough estimate of $650 million market.
Source: Chemistry & Industry, ” Fake pesticides threaten food safety,” November 5, 2006, http://www.chemind.org, Press Release, [...]
Counterfeit Watches Market Value: $655 Million
The Counterfeit Watch market consists of watches that are created and sold under recognized brand names without the permission of the legitimate watch maker.
Fake watches are costing the Swiss Watch Industry $655 million in lost sales.
Source: Swissinfo, “Watchmakers sound alarm over internet fakes,” swissinfo.org, December [...]
Counterfeit Shoes Market Value: $920 Million
The Counterfeit Shoes market is the selling of shoes under brand names without a license or the permission of the legitimate brand owner.
In Brazil alone, consumers spent $920 million on fake shoes.
Source: Brazil-U.S. Business Council, ” The Impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy on Sao Paulo City and Brazil,” June 2005, [...]
International Adoptions Market Value: $1.3 Billion
The 2005 EU Organized Crime Report stated that an estimated 1 million children are involved in illegal adoptions. The market value of these adoptions are estimated to be worth EUR 1 billion ($1.3 Billion) a year.
Source: EUROPOL, “2005 EU Organized Crime Report”, October 25, 2005, pg.16, (accessed: March 25, 2007).
Counterfeit Weapons Market Value: $1.8 Billion
The Counterfeit Small Arms market consists of the selling of unauthorized guns and other small arms that are being sold under legitimate brand names.
$2 billion worth of unlicensed small arms are sold on the international market each year.
Source: RIA Novosti, “Russia set to crack down on unlicensed arms production abroad,” Russian [...]
Counterfeit Airline Parts Market Value: $2.0 Billion
Counterfeit Airline Parts is the unauthorized duplication and distribution of airline parts.
According to a 2001 publication produced by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, ” as much as $2 billion in unapproved parts are now sitting on the shelves of parts distributors, airline, and repair stations.”
Source: Ann Parker, ” Lasershot Makes Its [...]
Video Game Piracy Market Value: $3.0 Billion
Video Game Piracy is the unauthorized copying, selling, and distributing of licensed video games without the permission of the copyright holder.
The Electronic Software Association estimates piracy losses to entertainment software companies to be $3 billion.
Source: Electronic Software Association, “Anti-Piracy FAQ,” (accessed: May 17, 2005).
Counterfeit Cosmetics Market Value: $3.0 Billion
Counterfeit Cosmetics is the buying and selling of cosmetic products that are unauthorized to be selling as a particular brand name.
Losses caused by counterfeit cosmetics exceed $3 billion.
Source: Anti-Counterfeiting Group, “The Extent of Counterfeiting,” 2004, (Path: Essential Information: The Extent of Counterfeiting), (last accessed: February 2, 2006).
Mobile Entertainment Piracy Market Value: $3.4 Billion
Mobile Entertainment Piracy is the unauthorized downloading of content for use on mobile devices, such as cellular phones.
The mobile entertainment industry lost $3.4 billion to pirated content in 2006.
Source: “Mobile DRM Issues Set to Cost Europe US $4.4 billion in 2006,” Cellar-News, May 9, 2006, (accessed: May 31, 2006).
Counterfeit Cigarettes Market Value: $4 Billion
Counterfeit Cigarettes is the buying, selling and distributing of fake cigarettes that attempts to trade on legitimate brand names.
Fake cigarettes leads to losses of $4 billion for cigarette manufacturers.
Source: Angelica Medaglia, “Cigarettes Are Costly, but Often Less So in Chinatown,” New York Times, September 18, 2007.
