Washington -- It may look like a Gucci bag, but it’s a fake. It may seem like a cheaper version of a hot, new movie, but it’s pirated. You may think you found a great deal on medicine online, but it’s counterfeit, too.

Every year, companies, artists and inventors worldwide are deprived of billions of dollars in revenue from their work and innovations, robbed by sophisticated criminal enterprises.

To help alert the public to this problem and to promote respect for intellectual property rights, governments and industries worldwide are celebrating Intellectual Property Day on April 26.

The list of countries holding events to highlight intellectual property issues is long, underscoring the depth and concern about the problem.

Bulgaria, for example, is hosting an online forum on the topic, “Which invention has most dramatically changed my everyday life?” The discussion will talk about the importance of creativity and innovation.

China is holding a series of events, including a roundtable on its achievements in intellectual property protection.

France will focus on engineers who will be asked to participate in a quiz about patents and different ways of protecting innovation.

Mexico is sponsoring talks on experiences with researchers and universities in developing technological innovation projects and on best practices in intellectual property management.

“This is an effort to raise the consciousness about this scourge and help people understand the real effect of what they think is a harmless act -- buying a pirated CD or handbag,” said Mark Smith, managing director for Western Hemisphere affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

People buy stolen intellectual property every day whether they know it or not. They may be purchasing pirated music or books, electronic equipment or computer software, lured by deceptively low prices.

They are unlikely to be aware that these bogus goods rob authors, artists and inventors of legitimate profits from the fruits of their work and stops the flow of money that could generate development of new and better products.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized nearly $197 million in counterfeit goods entering the United States in 2007, from apparel to consumer electronics and pirated films. The exact number of illicit goods dumped into marketplaces around the world is unknown, but it is considered to be worth billions of dollars every year.

“It’s hard to calculate and estimate just how much illegal or criminal activity you are not catching,” said Tim Trainer, founder of the Global IP Strategy Center, a legal consulting group. “What you are catching is a very tiny portion of what may be out there.”

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT SPREADS

The theft of intellectual property used to involve mainly luxury goods, but now encompasses much more. “It could be counterfeit batteries or car parts or other kinds of things that cause a safety hazard like medicine, food products or toothpaste,” Trainer said.

Mike Ryan, director of the Creative and Innovative Economy Center at George Washington University Law School in Washington, pointed to India where extensive traffic in pirated movies hurts Bollywood, India’s $11 billion-a-year film industry. An Ernst and Young India report recently estimated that pirated films cost the industry at least $4 billion a year.

“The Bollywood producer is only going to earn a small percentage because of piracy,” Ryan said.

Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said the damage is far more extensive -- an estimated $18 billion yearly loss worldwide just in the entertainment and film industries alone.

“If intellectual property is not protected, the music, songs, software, publishing, new communications systems won’t be done in the first place,” Glickman said.

Others say it is important for governments to impose tough sanctions against this kind of robbery, whether it occurs over the Internet or in a store.

Neil Turkewitz, executive vice president for the Recording Industry Association of America, said he hopes the attention created by World Intellectual Property Day will lead to a greater commitment by governments to copyright protections.

“This really needs to be stopped before it gets to the consumer,” he said.

For a list of World Intellectual Property Day events, see the World Intellectual Property Organization Website.