Banana 's Republic
Read the report that was prepared for the Brazil-U.S.Business Council by Content First, LLC, a full- service research firm based in Washington, D.C, that reviews the economic costs of counterfeit and pirated goods for the Brazilian economy.
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Counterfeiting and piracy in Brazil: the economic mpact
Counterfeiting and Piracy harm the Brazilian Economy
Counterfeiting and piracy cost hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
The losses in sales extend from an estimated loss of revenue from book piracy of $14 million and nearly $350 million in lost recording industry sales to almost $520 million in software piracy losses in 2003.Counterfeiting and piracy cost thousands of jobs. Estimates of job loss varies by industry. The toy industry reports that it has lost 80,000 jobs to piracy in recent years, the recording industry estimates a loss of some 55,000 jobs over three years, and the optics and lenses industry reduced employment by 8,000 jobs in 2003.
Counterfeiting and piracy results in lost tax revenue. If software piracy were reduced by 10 percentage points, an additional $335 million in tax revenue would be generated between 2002 and 2006. The cigarette industry reports that the government loses $500 million a year in cigarette tax revenue.Reduces Foreign Investment and Innovation Counterfeiting and piracy costs foreign investment and foreign knowhow.Foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Brazil if new products can be easily copied, especially pharmaceuticals and software.
Motion picture piracy
*30 percent of all audiovisual sales are pirated
*7,000 jobs lost
*120 million a year in lost revenue due to piracy
COPYRIGHT piracy
*1 percent of all software are pirated
*785 million a year in lost revenue due to piracy
Tobacco counterfeiting
*4 percent of all cigarettes sold are counterfeit
*1 billion illegal cigarettes
*500 million a year in lost cigarette tax revenue 3
Recording industry piracy
*2 percent of all records and music are pirated
*5,000 jobs lost over three years due to piracy
*2 million in unpaid taxes
Business software piracy
*5 percent of all business software applications are pirated
*187 million a year in lost revenue due to piracy
Toy counterfeiting
*2 percent of all toys are counterfeit
*0,000 jobs lost due to toy counterfeiting
*31 million a year in lost sales
Other counterfeiting and piracy
*8 percent of all eyeglasses are lost to piracy
*0 percent of all auto parts sold in Brazil are counterfeit
*-7 percent of all medicines in Brazil are counterfeiting
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Economic costs by Industry
This report compiles the best available economic data on intellectual property infringements for major industry sectors. Counterfeiting and piracy in Brazil are focused mainly on the domestic market. In fact, it is estimated that three out of five counterfeit or pirated products are imported into Brazil from such countries as Paraguay, China,Singapore, Korea, and Malaysia due to the large numbers of consumers and to the difficulties that the Brazilian authorities have in securing their frontiers.
Brazil is flooded with counterfeit cigarettes. Tobacco companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually to smuggled or fake cigarettes.These illegal cigarettes now represent 34 percent of the volume of cigarettes sold per year, jumping from 5 percent of the market in 1991 and 20 percent in 1995. Approximately 51 billion cigarettes are sold illegally every year in the Brazilian market out of a total of 150 billion cigarettes sold per year, mainly originating in Paraguay.
Brazil would net $500 million a year in lost cigarette tax revenue if counterfeiting were reduced or eliminated. The billions of counterfeit tobacco products available in Brazil are also beyond the reach of Brazil’s National Agency of Health Control. Thus, these products are outside the health agency’s scope, posing additional risks to Brazilian consumers.
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U.S. Copyright-based Industry Piracy
The combined total losses to the U.S. copyright-based industries, including software, records and music, entertainment software, and motion pictures in Brazil totaled $785 million in 2003, according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). Software Piracy in Brazil More than 60 percent of all software, covering PC software, operating systems, consumer-oriented software, and local-language software was pirated in Brazil in 2003, according to the Business Software Alliance. Software piracy losses totaled $519 million last year, making Brazil the eleventh country worldwide by losses from piracy.
If Brazil lowered its piracy rate by 10 points, its software services sector could grow to nearly $17 billion by 2006, according to an economic Conclusion This review shows there is no single objective database that compiles the needed statistics to understand the full economic impact of counterfeiting, piracy, and black and gray market fraud on the Brazilian economy. With major industries such as software, motion pictures, and records and music losing more than half of their sales to these illegal activities, it is critical that a single objective source of data be established.The Brazil-U.S. Business Council strongly urges the Brazilian government to collect industry-level data on counterfeiting, piracy, and gray market activities. This would allow government officials, business leaders, the media, and the Brazilian public to better understand the full economic impact of these activities on the Brazilian economy.impact study conducted for the Business Software Alliance by theInternational Data Corporation (IDC) in April 2003.
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Motion picture Industry Piracy
The piracy of foreign and Brazilian films is ubiquitous and continues to worsen. Clandestine duplication and distribution organizations sell high quality illegal copies which include counterfeit packaging. One out of every three CDs or DVDs sold in Brazil last year was pirated, according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Optical disc piracy, which includes Laser Discs and DVDs, is increasing in Brazil and is a major threat to the audiovisual sector. It has a piracy rate approaching 15 percent of the market and accounts for approximately 25 percent of total seizures of pirated product. Economic Impact The U.S. motion picture industry loses $120 million annually due to piracy in the Brazilian market, according to the MPAA. It estimates an overall audiovisual piracy rate of 30 percent in 2003. Additionally, the Association for the Defense of Intellectual Property reports that audiovisual piracy translates into a loss of 17,000 jobs.
The publishing industry reports that unauthorized photocopying of English language study materials and individual lessons and chapters from textbooks, as well as entire books, continues to be a major form of book piracy in Brazil.