The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has shared details from its crime statistics portal regarding the seizures of counterfeit products in Spain, as documented by the national security forces over several years.
The portal indicates in which Spanish autonomous communities most counterfeit products have been seized. It reveals that from 2017 to 2020, the following autonomous communities have topped the list:
- Andalusia;
- Castile and León;
- Catalonia; and
- Valencia.
The total amount of counterfeit products seized over the years is as follows:
- 2017 – 6,238,996 counterfeit products seized;
- 2018 – 6,116,730 counterfeit products seized;
- 2019 – 4,977,100 counterfeit products seized; and
- 2020 – 1,536,228 counterfeit products seized.
There was certainly a significant drop in the number of products seized between 2020 and 2019 – a difference of almost 3.5 million fewer products. This can be attributed to the covid-19 pandemic, which forced many countries to implement radical restrictions, such as home lockdowns, in 2020.
In fact, a press release published on the Spanish Ministry of the Interior's website states that the health crisis caused by covid-19 has led to "a drop in crime figures that has been reflected in a decrease in criminal offences related to the infringement of intellectual property rights".
The press release points out that the more than 1.5 million counterfeit products seized in 2020 most likely had a market value of more than €71 million. Specifically:
- €23.1 million for products in the textile sector;
- €12.6 million for leather goods and accessories;
- €11.9 million for footwear; and
- €1.1 million for beverages and food items.
It turns out that 48.3% of the products were seized at warehouses and factories, while 24.7% were seized at commercial establishments and 11.4% in customs areas, ports and airports.
The press release points out that the infringement of IP rights leads to the loss of jobs by contributing to a drop in sales and the weakening of consumers' rights, because counterfeit products are produced without the necessary controls and inspections to ensure their safety.
For further information on this topic please contact Nuria Dominguez de la Torre at Grau & Angulo by telephone (+34 93 2023456) or email ([email protected]). The Grau & Angulo website can be accessed at www.ga-ip.com.