Product counterfeits and copied designs are an expensive, ongoing nuisance for many manufacturers. Once a year, the Aktion Plagiarius association publicly denounces manufacturers and retailers of “particularly brazen plagiarism and counterfeits”. As part of the Frankfurt consumer goods fair, the association has now awarded its negative prizes for the 48th time. A jury made up of business representatives and design experts awarded Plagiarius prizes for, among other things, household products, toys and technology items.
The photo series shows the original product on the left and the excellent imitation on the right. It’s usually hard to notice a difference at first glance, but sometimes the copies are of inferior quality. Some cases have already ended up in court due to violations of product and trademark rights. Nevertheless, the award says nothing about whether the counterfeit product is legally permitted or illegal, emphasizes Aktion Plagiarius. Her main concern is to create awareness “that clumsy 1:1 imitations that deliberately look deceptively similar to the original product are reckless and morally reprehensible and lead to stagnation instead of progress and diversity.”
In addition to companies that produce and sell plagiarism, the focus this year is also on large online platforms that allow them on their marketplaces without being checked. From the Plagiarius Association’s point of view, Chinese platforms such as Temu, Shein and Aliexpress in particular are flooding the world markets with cheap articles that sometimes violate the law. Marketing takes place via social media, and bargain hunters often get the goods delivered directly from the Far East.
In the fight against product and brand piracy, the Plagiarius campaign calls for, among other things, stricter regulations for online retailers, tougher penalties for product manufacturers and educational campaigns for consumers. Members of the Aktion Plagiarius association are entrepreneurs, design experts and lawyers.
Source: Stern
