Israel's drug industry "hardest" hit by IP fraud

The Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce has issued a report which claims that the country's pharmaceutical industry is the worst hit by intellectual property fraud, with losses in Israel of $322.0 million, compared with $39.0 million for the local music recording industry, $38.0 million for the movie business and $84.0 million for the computer software sector.

The FICC noted that the US Commerce Department lists Israel as one of 13 countries with concerns about the protection of intellectual property. The group also said that 10% of all pirate sales in Israel were drugs.

Speaking at the Israeli Intellectual Property Forum in Tel Aviv, Uriel Lynn, the FICC's president, said: "the phenomenon of intellectual property rights violations has reached epidemic proportions."