Consumer goods fair: alarm level red! Plagiarius denounces counterfeits!

Consumer goods fair: alarm level red! Plagiarius denounces counterfeits!

At the Ambiente Ambiente Consumer Fair Measure in Frankfurt/Main, which was opened today and is running until February 11, not only innovative products are presented, but also the problems of product piracy are openly addressed. As part of this event, the negative price "Plagiarius" was awarded for the 49th time. This prize should draw attention to particularly brazen falsifications and is a way to bring the consequences of product piracy into the spotlight. The jurors of the "Plagiarius" campaign criticize the continuous increase in trade with fake products, especially online platforms such as Temu and Shein that have appeared in recent years.

The EU Commission has now dealt intensively with these platforms, since more than 85 percent of the products they offer violate EU security standards and regulations. As an example, the jury gives the front and side-side pliers (Twingrip) from the Wuppertal manufacturer Knipex. Despite the removal of imitated items, they quickly reappeared on the platform. Also imitations of articles such as bicycle baskets, garbage gears as well as screwdrivers and even the front section of a Mercedes-Benz can often be found under the award-winning counterfeits.

plagiarius and product piracy

The "Plagiarius" campaign was created to make the consequences of product piracy visible and to contribute to prevention. A changing jury from experts evaluates the market situation annually and views complaints about counterfeiting product. On a single day last year, around four billion duty-free packages from third countries were introduced in the EU, with Ramsch platforms such as Temu and Shein play a central role in import of such plagiarism. The number of counterfeits confiscated by EU authorities has also increased massively in 2023, which indicates a worrying development.

The estimated damage caused by product piracy in the EU between 2013 and 2017 amounts to over 83 billion EUR annually. This not only has economic consequences, but also leads to a loss of 671,000 jobs. The security risks that fake products in areas such as medicines, food, cosmetics and toys are particularly serious. In agriculture, fake fertilizers and pesticides must not remain unnoticed because they also endanger the environment.

legal protection and EU measures

In order to counteract product piracy, various German authorities work together, including the Federal Ministry of Justice, Customs and the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). The latter informs the medium -sized economy and the public about the protection of innovations and cooperates internationally with other offices to improve the legal protection of intellectual property rights. These measures are accompanied by a new parcel fee for shopping portals and a discussion about the deletion of duty-free boundaries, but the agreements between the EU countries are still unclear and could take months.

The ongoing challenges of product piracy and the efforts to combat them are therefore at the top of the agenda in both the European and in the global context. The negative price "Plagiarius" serves as a reminder and as an impetus for necessary measures against this growing threat.