VDMALess damage due to mechanical engineering plagiarism
Smaller companies in particular are hit hard by product piracy, say experts. Especially as they are less likely to take action against it. It is hardly surprising that China is far ahead when it comes to counterfeiting - the following places on the counterfeit list are more striking.
Special award "Hyena Prize"
Switch cabinet key "KNIPEX TwinKey"
Center Original : KNIPEX-Werk C. Gustav Putsch KG, Wuppertal, Germany
Outside Plagiarism: Various online retailers, mainly from the People's Republic of China (14 examples out of 9,500+)
Sale a.e.g. via: Amazon.de / Amazon.fr / Amazon.com/USA;
Alibaba.com; Taobao.com/China; 1688.com/China; banggood.com
KNIPEX has had 9,500 illegal TwinKey offers removed from online platforms in the last three years. What is special about the original: The ingenious, patent-protected solution, which uses a magnet to combine two multifunctional keys with a total of ten profiles in a very compact, star-shaped arrangement, but which can be easily separated for use. Various court rulings confirm the 'competitive character' of the original, i.e. imitators act unfairly and deceive buyers about the origin. The extremely low prices of counterfeit products are reflected in cheap materials and poor workmanship, and the magnet often does not work or comes loose from its attachment.