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All too often overlooked, counterfeiting is attaining alarming proportions and the number of businesses made to suffer by counterfeiters is increasing all the time. And it’s not just watches: medicines, films, music, fashion goods and other articles are also prey to systematic copying. Essentially the theft of an intellectual property right, the problem of counterfeiting today has reached global proportions. It drains brands of their substance, threatens existing jobs, harms the environment and endangers the health of consumers. Worth an estimated 400 billion dollars annually, the sales generated are astronomical. Another worrying fact: the fake goods industry finances criminal organisations linked to drug trafficking, gambling, prostitution, extortion, money laundering and human trafficking.
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