$200B Lost To Counterfeiting? Back It Up

An anonymous reader writes "Over the weekend, the NY Times ran a story about how the recession has impacted product counterfeiters. In it, the reporter regurgitates the oft-repeated claim that counterfeiting 'costs American businesses an estimated $200 billion a year.' Techdirt's Mike Masnick asks the Times reporter to back up that assertion, noting two recent reports (by the GAO and the OECD) that suggest the actual number is much lower, and quoting two reporters who have actually looked at the numbers and found (a) the real number is probably less than $5 billion, and (b) the $200 billion number can be traced back to a totally unsourced (read: made-up) magazine claim from two decades ago."

Comments

Re:Not surprising

[tehcyder]

Indeed, I recently bought a fake Breitling watch for $100.-.

Even though I have to take it off in the shower (yes I bathe) I would never buy the +$4000.- real deal that's water proof to -500 meters.

The fact that you are happy with an inferior product simply because it bears a certain brand name proves that you are not just a buffoon, but a fucking cheap one too. Congratulations.