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April 25, 2016 - Infringement of geographical indications in the EU

On April 25, 2016, the European Union Intellectual Property Office published a report on Infringement of Geographical Indications in the European Union.

According to this report, the production value of products protected by EU GI schemes represents € 54.3 billion and the EU GI product consumption is of €48 billion. France is the largest producer and consumer of GI products, followed by Italy and Germany.

The EU GI infringement market totaled approximately €4.3 billion in 2014, corresponding to 9% of the total EU GI product market. The consumer loss, which corresponds to the sum unjustly paid by consumers in the belief they bought a genuine product, is estimated at up to €2.3 billion, which is about 4.8% of total GI purchases.

In France, where nearly 32% of EU GI products are sold, the infringement rate is of 10.3% and the infringement value represents €1.57 billion.

Together, wines and spirit drinks account for nearly 80% of total consumer loss.