According to estimates by the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (CIB) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), counterfeit goods make up 5 to 7% of world trade. A report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that up to $200 billion of international trade could have been for counterfeit and pirated goods in 2005, and around $250 billion in 2007. Other estimates conclude that a more accurate figure is closer to $600 billion lost, since the OECD estimates do not include online sales or goods counterfeited and sold within the same country.
The range of consumer goods that are counterfeited and sold as genuine is wide. Besides numerous smaller goods such as watches, purses, cigarettes, movies and software, larger items such as cars and motorcycles are also being knocked off, including Porsches and Ferraris. There is a rapidly growing trade in counterfeit drugs and computer parts, with some mock parts discovered inadvertently in use by NASA, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army, which alone estimates that the growth in counterfeit electronics has more than doubled between 2005 and 2008. Among the causes for its growth are many: more of the world’s manufacturing is being transferred overseas, the growth in internet e-commerce sales, and the fact that consumers hit by the recession will seek out lower-cost items
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates online shopping to account for over $222.5 billion in sales in the U.S. (as of 2009) with the five largest categories of items sold online being:
- Music and videos (83.7%)
- Electronics and appliances (80.4%)
- Books and magazines (76.4%)
- Furniture and home furnishings (75.2%)
- Clothing and accessories (74.9%)
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