On the eve of the start of numerous major sporting events, such as the European Football Championship and the Olympics in Paris, EUIPO launched the Play Fair campaign, inviting fans to watch official broadcasts and buy official equipment. Research by the EU agency on the perception, awareness and behavior of the citizens of the European Union has shown that millions of Europeans watch illegal broadcasts of sports events and buy counterfeit sports equipment.
Thus, 12 percent of the citizens of the European Union (EU) accessed sports content from illegal sources or “streamed” it, and even more than a quarter of young people aged 15 to 24, 27 percent of them, admit to use illegal internet channels to watch sports.
Identical percentages apply to citizens of Croatia.
Thus, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 illegally watch sports broadcasts on the Internet twice as often as the total population, so 47 percent of young Bulgarians are most likely to engage in illegal “streaming” of sports events. Spain and Greece follow with 42 percent each, Slovenia with 39 percent, Ireland with 34 percent, etc.
When looking at the total population, the citizens of Bulgaria are also at the forefront, considering that 21 percent of them admit to the aforementioned illegal practices. Greeks follow with 20 percent, then citizens of Ireland and Spain with 19 percent each, Luxembourg with 18 percent, etc.
Illegal Internet transmissions are possible for all types of content, including sporting events, and the EUIPO estimates that piracy, looking at all media, annually generates one billion euros of illegal income. At the same time, the agency emphasizes that the illegal transmission of live events is an existential problem for the financing of sports, given that the income generated through intellectual property rights is redistributed to both sports and athletes.
Research by the EUIPO shows that “streaming” is the most popular method for accessing illegal TV content – 58 percent of piracy in the EU takes place via streaming, and 32 percent via downloading.
Manufacturers of sports equipment suffer losses of 850 million euros
In addition to sports broadcasts, according to EUIPO data, the sports equipment sector in the Union suffers losses of 850 million euros per year, which is 11 percent of lost sales revenue. This figure does not include sports clothing such as counterfeit soccer shirts and counterfeit sports shoes, which represent a significant part of the annual losses from counterfeit clothing in Europe, which amounts to 12 billion euros, EUIPO notes.
According to the EUIPO report, an average of ten percent of young people in the EU between the ages of 15 and 24 admit that they have deliberately bought counterfeit sports equipment, and this is the most common among young people in Greece. of which 18 percent did so. On the other hand, seven percent of young European consumers accidentally bought counterfeit items.
When the wordč about young Croats, five percent of them admit that they knowingly bought counterfeit sports equipment, and eight percent say that they bought such goods by accident.
As part of Operation Fake Star, which targeted counterfeit goods from well-known brands, police authorities across Europe detected and seized eight million pieces of counterfeit luxury and sports goods, more than half of the total of 14 million counterfeit items seized in 2023. Counterfeit sports goods included fake textiles, shoes, labels, leather goods and accessories, including sports shoes and clothes, with an estimated retail value of 120 million euros. Operation “Fake Star” led to the arrest of 264 people in connection with counterfeits, according to the EUIPO.
“While we are enjoying numerous sporting excitements this summer, the key is to play fair, both for the players on the field and for the spectators at home. The intellectual property rights behind these events protect and promote hear our experiences as fans, support our athletes and inspire future European and world champions. By watching official broadcasts and buying licensed products, we ensure the development of sports and sports competitions for generations to come,” said the EUIPO executive director. and João Negrão in the statement that is transmitted in the press release.