THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS IN EGYPT

The phenomenon of counterfeiting has increasingly become an area of interest by academicians in the last three decades. According to Trade-related Aspects on Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), counterfeit goods are those that are sold without authorization and cannot be distinguished from the trademark-registered goods in various aspects such as design, logo, trademark, and company name. Counterfeiting is considered a social problem as it affects consumer confidence in original products and destroys brand equity. It is also considered an economic problem as it puts a company at risk of future investment in research and development due to unfair competition with counterfeited products present in the market and losses in revenues. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world, estimates counterfeiting is costing the global economy more than US$100 billion a year. According