The negative prize 'Plagiarius', founded by designer Prof. Rido Busse, was awarded for the 42nd time at the Frankfurt consumer goods fair 'Ambiente'. Since 1977, Aktion Plagiarius e.V. has been awarding the 'Schmäh-Preis' to manufacturers and retailers of particularly brazen plagiarisms and counterfeits. The aim of the association is to sensitize industry, politics and consumers to the problem and to raise public awareness of the unscrupulous business practices of product and brand pirates. At the same time, it aims to raise awareness of the importance and effectiveness of industrial property rights and increase the appreciation of creative achievements.

The award says nothing about whether a counterfeit product is permitted or illegal in the legal sense. As the Plagiarius campaign emphasized at the Ambiente consumer goods fair, it cannot pronounce justice, but it can draw attention to injustice. The procedure for selecting the "prize winners": Before the annually changing jury selects the winners, the alleged plagiarists are informed of their nomination and given the opportunity to comment. In addition to case-related information, these reactions - if any - are included in the assessment. The jury is by no means interested in branding legal competitor products that are characterized by visual and technical originality. Rather, the intention is to focus on clumsy imitations that deliberately look confusingly similar to the original product and have no creative or constructive merit of their own. For fear of being awarded the negative prize, numerous imitators have already sought an agreement with the original manufacturer and have, for example, withdrawn remaining stocks of counterfeit products from the market, signed cease-and-desist declarations or disclosed suppliers.

From February 16, 2018, this year's counterfeits and originals will be on display at the Museum Plagiarius in Solingen. The Plagiarius campaign has been presenting the collection of Plagiarius award winners there since 1977. The exhibition now includes more than 350 products from a wide range of industries and shows a direct comparison between the original and the counterfeit.

Figures on product and brand piracy

Product and brand piracy is often dismissed as a harmless trivial offense. But the figures speak for themselves. According to the EU Commission, EU customs authorities confiscated more than 41 million infringing products worth 670 million euros at the EU's external borders in 2016 alone. Although China is the number one country of origin for counterfeits, more and more Chinese companies are developing from the West's extended workbench into serious competitors on the global markets. What's more: The counterfeits are often commissioned or sold in industrialized countries. Often by competitors with few ideas or former production or distribution partners. For the best possible defence against product and brand piracy, Aktion Plagiarius advises companies to rely on a holistic strategy of legal, organizational and technical measures.

Counterfeit goods are now available in all price and quality gradations, from dangerous cheap counterfeits to high-quality plagiarisms that are hardly cheaper than the original product. These range from contaminated perfumes and cosmetics, inferior consumer electronics and adulterated food to counterfeit cutlery and household goods, sanitary products, children's toys, tools, unsafe chainsaws and car rims or even incorrectly dosed medicines and non-functioning medical technology products such as emergency ventilators.

Organized crime discovers counterfeit trade

In times of the Internet, globalization and digital communication, criminals have joined forces to form worldwide networks that operate on a project-based, flexible and professional basis. In order to minimize the risks of criminal prosecution and maximize their profits, they diversify their fields of activity and integrate lower-risk but no less lucrative variants such as cigarette smuggling and brand piracy. In doing so, they use existing structures from drug, arms and human trafficking and rely on the internet, social media and smartphones for global distribution.

Counterfeit products on online marketplaces

According to the Plagiarius campaign, global e-commerce platforms are unfortunately also offering masses of illegal counterfeits and fakes alongside original goods. Mostly from third-party providers who change their (fake) identities as required and hide in the anonymity of the internet. Practice shows that voluntary commitments and promises by platform operators are not enough to combat the problem more effectively. The interest of some dubious platforms is too low. Nowadays, it would be technically possible to actively detect and delete potentially illegal content. However, this causes additional costs and reduces profits. At the same time, revenue would be lost as marketplace operators also earn money from the sale of illegal offers. The protection of original manufacturers and consumers should be the top priority for all operators, emphasizes the Plagiarius campaign. It therefore advocates a legal obligation for more responsibility and commitment on the part of marketplace operators.

The same design is not the same quality

Consumers are demanding new, diverse products of the highest quality and attractive design at ever shorter intervals. In addition to know-how and experience, their development also requires talent, creativity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance and passion. Plagiarists lack all of these qualities. They brazenly copy a finished end product, skimp on the time-consuming and cost-intensive development steps and investments, adorn themselves with other people's feathers without scruples and predominantly produce under inhumane working conditions. Consumers suppress these circumstances when they consciously buy a counterfeit brand. According to the Plagiarius campaign, they mistakenly give in to the illusion that a counterfeit product provides the same brand experience as the coveted branded product. This is by no means the case. A clumsy counterfeit has neither the aura of the original nor does it fulfill its brand promise. The same design does not automatically mean the same quality, functionality, precision and safety. Original and counterfeit are only deceptively similar at first glance.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each individual consumer to choose and appreciate the incredible variety of legal products rather than junk with criminal labels. Especially when shopping on the Internet, consumers should therefore take a close look, listen to their common sense and not click on "Buy" rashly and uncritically. In your own interest, it is worth carefully checking the legal notice, payment terms, withdrawal options and the general reliability of the provider. High-quality branded products are not available for next to nothing. However, they are worth their price compared to counterfeit products.