According to the EUIPO’s IP perception study, 12 per cent of EU citizens access or stream sports content from illegal online sources. This number rises to 27 per cent among young people aged 15-24 with 47 per cent of Bulgarian youth admitting to such activities. This is followed by Spain and Greece at 42 per cent, Slovenia at 39 per cent and Ireland at 34 per cent.
According to the EUIPO’s study on online copyright infringement, streaming is the most common method to access illicit TV content – 58 per cent of piracy in the EU occurs via streaming and 32 per cent through download.
Impact of counterfeit sports goods
According to the EUIPO’s Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard, 10 per cent of EU youth ages 15-24 admit to purchasing fake sporting equipment intentionally. Conversely, 7 per cent of young European consumers have bought counterfeit items by accident.
The impact of these counterfeit sales in the EU is substantial, causing an estimated total loss of €851 million annually – equivalent to 11 per cent of the total sales in the sector – according to EUIPO calculations. France, Austria, and the Netherlands experience the highest monetary losses, amounting to hundreds of millions of euros each. In terms of proportional impact, Romania, Lithuania, and Hungary suffer the most, with counterfeit sports equipment accounting for up to 20 per cent of total lost sales in each country.
Furthermore, the EUIPO’s studies suggest that fake goods also pose significant health risks due to non-compliance with safety standards and environmental protection standards as indicated by the EUIPO and OECD study on dangerous goods
Fighting live-event piracy and IP infringement
Across the EU, countries and affected parties are combatting live event piracy and counterfeiting relying on regulations and technology to block illicit online services. The European Commission has adopted two recommendations on the topic: one on combating online piracy of sports and other live events, which established a network of dedicated national administrative authorities, and another to combat counterfeiting through increased enforcement and awareness to which the EUIPO contributes through dissemination, implementation and monitoring efforts.