The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a unit of the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office, just released a report that the value of imported counterfeit and pirated goods has topped $460 billion. These fake rip-offs include handbags, watches, perfume, machine parts, chemicals and medicine. According to the agency, counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for $461 billion of the $17.9 trillion worth of goods imported globally in 2013. Being keepers of both the truth and perspective, quick math reveals that while $461 billion “ain’t hay” as they used to say, pirated goods are 2.6% of all imports. Is that a lot? Or not very much?
