Price is the deciding factor for young consumers when choosing between genuine and counterfeit products

A new study published by the EUIPO looks at people’s perception of various issues surrounding counterfeit goods. Worryingly for brand owners, the results show that one in three Europeans find it acceptable to buy counterfeit products if the price of the genuine product is too high. For younger consumers (15-25 years olds) this figure jumps to 50%. 

In the last year, 13% of Europeans admitted to have knowingly bought counterfeit goods. Within the youngest group of respondents in the study (15-25 year olds) this figure again rises to twice the average figure with 26% of this age group reporting that they having bought counterfeits in the past 12 months.

The EUIPO believes that the real figure is likely to be even higher as people still do not like to admit to such activity.

The whole study report is over 75 pages long but does contain many interesting insights into the perceptions of consumers relating to intellectual property and counterfeit goods. 

These findings show that while many Europeans are aware of the negative impact of counterfeit goods the factor that is most powerful in deterring consumers from buying counterfeit goods is genuine goods being available at a lower price. Greater affordability of genuine goods was the most often mentioned reason to stop buying counterfeits.

Consequently, brands have to think about revising their messaging to the 15-25 year old group as well as considering how to make product offerings more accessible in terms of price. Brands also have to keep up their enforcement activity against counterfeit goods with a strong portfolio of trade marks and other IP rights in order to help remove the temptation of counterfeit goods from those consumers who are still minded to purchase them.