Japan finds fakes cause losses at a quarter of firms

The Japanese government reports almost one-in-four firms suffered counterfeit-related losses in fiscal 2012.

Data on the impact of counterfeits was gathered by a Japan Patent Office (JPO) survey of more than 4,000 firms. The JPO found a slight increase in the proportion of companies losing revenue because of fake products.

In turn, there was a small increase in companies adopting anti-counterfeiting measures, with just over half of respondents now implementing plans. The Internet was the source of more than half the reported losses, up again on the previous year, and any strategy must address online sales.

Japanese companies are also poised to receive more government support, although solid details are yet to emerge. The JPO said the findings will feed into policies aimed at cutting the burden of fake products on Japanese companies.

Helping to tackle counterfeiting in China would be a start. More than two-thirds of firms reporting losses named China as a country where they had suffered because of fakes. Korea, the runner up, trailed China by a long way, with fewer than one-in-four firms reporting losses in the country.

The report (in Japanese) can be accessed here.