The 1,535 police investigations carried out last year have allowed the arrest or investigation of 1,552 people for crimes against industrial property rights.
The Ministry of the Interior has released the data of the annual balance of police activity in the fight against the sale of counterfeits, a statistical study that is available in full at the Criminal Statistics Portal. This balance includes the actions of the National Police, Civil Guard, Navarra Police, Mossos d'Esquadra and those local police forces that provide data to the Statistical Crime System (SEC).
The Spanish office of the patents and brand (OEPM), an autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, has echoed the data because they contribute to the necessary awareness of the Spanish consumer about the negative consequences caused by the consumption of counterfeit products.
In addition, the OEPM highlights the novelty in the evaluation of the counterfeits intervened, with the effort of both the Ministry of the Interior and ANDEMA (Brand Defense Association). For its part, these data will serve the Industrial and Intellectual Property Office of the European Union (EUIPO), which includes them with those of the rest of the members of the European Union, thus allowing comparison between them and monitoring of annual trends in this matter.
Of the almost five million counterfeit products seized, 2,417,981 belong to the drinks and groceries sector and would have reached a market value of 33,250,082 euros. The textile sector follows: the 470,957 requisitioned counterfeits are valued at 33,908,904 euros. On the next step is the leather goods and accessories sector, with 86,706 objects seized for a value of 31,053,486 euros.
Negative consequences
Infringements of industrial property rights have negative consequences for the economy in general because they destroy direct jobs, reduce the sale of legal products and generate undesired effects in areas such as social or consumer health and safety. , since counterfeit products evade the existing regulations on this matter, as well as the appropriate controls and inspections for their subsequent commercialization in a safe manner.
The data collected in the Statistical Crime System reflects that the seizure of these counterfeits has occurred, above all, in the warehouses, factories and warehouses where they are manufactured or from where they are distributed (29.26 percent of the time). Sales establishments (12.24 percent) and customs facilities at ports and airports (4.18 percent) follow in the list of seizure points.
Castilla y León, Cataluña and Andalucía are the autonomous communities that are in the highest positions in the list that takes as a reference point the number of objects operated during 2019.
These data support the growing importance and joint effort required to fight counterfeiting, as well as the need for multisectoral and public-private collaboration to end this scourge. The director general of the OEPM appreciates the extraordinary work of the State Security Forces in the fight against counterfeiting, as well as the firm commitment expressed with the publication of data, despite the anomalous circumstances in which it is found in these moments the world. It also stresses that the legal protection of Industrial Property Rights, which begins with their registration, undoubtedly requires the executive powers of the Security Forces and Bodies.
Despite the fact that this year it was not possible to celebrate a day, as was usually done, since in the current health crisis situation, the celebration of the event was not advisable, it is insisted on the rejection of this type of criminal activity that, according to studies of EUIPO of 2019, suppose losses of sales with a value of 6,766 million euros in Spain per year and more than 53,467 lost jobs.
Thus, the publication of these statistics culminates in a month focused on raising awareness of the harm caused by counterfeits and the importance of betting on original products, after the celebration of numerous events and virtual workshops by the OEPM, with the participation of the State Security Forces and Bodies in the Video for the World Anti-counterfeiting Day and the Anti-counterfeiting Round Table.