Il online market for counterfeit products moves in Italy a turnover comparable to that of a financial manoeuvre. “If all of the material was brought into the legal arena, the impact would be approx 17 billion euros, while the tax payments would amount to 5 billion euros”. The figures were revealed by General Gennaro Vecchione, commander of the special units of the Guardia di Finanza, who spoke on Wednesday in Rome during the conference "Counterfeiting and the fight against misleading information", promoted by the Italia in Testa Observatory in collaboration with the Embassy of Hungary.
"To combat the phenomenon - explains Francesca Cappiello, of the Directorate General for the fight against counterfeiting of the Mise - the Carta Italia was stipulated last year, an agreement signed in July by rights holders (Indicam) and players in online commerce (Consortium Netcomm) and promoted by the Mise. The Charter commits its signatories to adopt measures which allow for the identification of offers relating to inauthentic products before placing them online”.
But there is not only the internet to keep an eye on: "In Italy, by 2008 to 2014 were kidnapped approximately 377.395.292 counterfeit items, for a total value of over 4 billion Cappiello continues. The most counterfeit goods are clothing accessories, followed by actual clothing. In third place, however, there are toys”.
Counterfeiting weighs even more on the image of Made in Italy:, which also – according to Marinella Loddo, of the National Institute for Foreign Trade – is still “the third most recognized brand worldwide after Coca Cola and Visa”. Outside our borders, the market for fake Italian products is especially wild at the table, to the point that “97% of pasta sauces, 94% of preserves in oil and vinegar, 76% of canned tomatoes and 15% of cheeses sold in North and Central America are imitations”, claims Lidia Marconi, member of the Association of Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad.
Another particular area is that of cigarettes. In this case we are not talking about counterfeiting, but smuggling, i.e. the illicit traffic that escapes the state monopoly and which in Italy is worth "about 7% of the market - as pointed out by Luca Gentile, anti illicit trade manager of British American Tobacco Italia –. On the other hand, a very different story should be made for the counterfeiting of cigarettes: in our country, according to data highlighted by the Guardia di Finanza, counterfeiting is today a marginal problem, which represents no more than 1% of the total illegal cigarettes seized”. A distinction that has very little consolation, "since - recalls Marco Ganassi, of the Italian Federation of Tobacconists - the proceeds from smuggling go to finance organized crime".
