The illicit and covert nature of counterfeiting makes evaluating the exact value of these markets problematic and to be regarded with some caution (OECD, 1998; Dixon and Greenhalgh, 2002). However, estimates of the economic cost of counterfeiting to industry and government offer some indication of the size of the markets. Quoting European Commission figures, the OECD estimated in 1998 that counterfeit goods were worth between 5-7 per cent of world trade, and had demonstrated 150 per cent growth in value between 1990 and 1995 (OECD, 1998, ). The share of counterfeit products in total sales have been estimated to be.
