Every year some €60 billion are lost to counterfeit goods across the EU, including €398 million in Croatia, which represents 12.6 percent of the total value of direct sales, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) reported on Wednesday.

Over the last five years EUIPO has been tracking the losses from the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in 13 sectors which are known to be vulnerable to violations of intellectual property.

Their data shows that direct losses incurred total 60 billion, or 7.5 percent of legal sales, as a result of the trade in counterfeit goods. The accumulated loss, the report said, amounted to €116 per EU citizen per year.

Since this also affects production output, with manufacturers producing fewer products as a result of counterfeiting, they also employ fewer workers, with EUIPO estimating that some 434,000 jobs have been lost to trade in counterfeit goods.

In Croatia, the illegal trade amounts to €398 million, or 12.6 percent of legal sales, which translates to €94 per citizen. The sectors with largest losses due to counterfeiting in Croatia are the pharmaceutical sector which loses €136 million to the sale of fake medicines, or 11.7 percent of the sector’s revenue, and the clothing sector which loses €129 million, or 14.3 percent of overall revenue.

These are followed by the illegal smartphone market, with losses of €45 million or 15.0 percent of revenue, cosmetics (€35 million, or 12.4 percent revenue), and wine and liquor sector, with a loss of €22 million or 10.7 of total revenue.

Due to counterfeit goods in all 13 sectors tracked, EUIPO estimates that the country lost nearly 4,000 jobs.

On the EU level, the largest annual losses are in the clothing industry, totalling €23.5 billion or 8.1 percent of revenue, followed by pharmaceuticals with nearly €16 billion lost, or 6.6 percent of revenue, and cosmetic products sector, where counterfeit goods sold are worth €5.8 billion, or 8.9 percent of the sector’s total revenue.

Executive Director of EUIPO, António Campinos, said that over the last five years the agency’s reports and research have for the fitrst time compiled a comprehensive overview of the economic effects of the trade in counterfeit goods and piracy.

This research also showed the positive effect that intellectual property has on overall employment and economic development, Campinos added.

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