Poland among the top ten largest pirate markets

According to Rzeczpospolita, a majority of the public have at least once bought a pirate music cassettes, movie or software, while half of them have bought illegal copies of branded clothing. However, this is not only a problem in this country, as the global market of false products is estimated at $450 billion a year. "In Poland people are not ashamed of possessing counterfeit copies. It is hard to fight piracy if it is socially acceptable," said Jan Hajdukiewicz from the Police Main Headquarters. It is hard to estimate what the value of the piracy market is in Poland, but according to Marta Czyż from the Patent Office, it will be possible after the country joins the EU. International Intellectual Property Association believes that producers' losses amount to $491.4 million annually and named Poland as one of the ten countries in the world with the largest pirate market. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.