 | ||
 | In This Corner...The Challenger |  |
| ||
| In This Corner...The Challenger | |
In the jargon of counterfeiters, the clones of manufactured goods are called "knock-offs" or "knocks", for short. Industries such as auto parts, perfume or fashion have long been attacked by knock-offs. In foreign markets, it's usually no better than even money that goods for sale will be fake rather than genuine. Counterfeits are judged to account for up to 8% of goods and services worldwide. The corresponding loss of trade is estimated as high as $200 billion (source: IACC). In a real sense, counterfeiting can be called an industry all to itself.
The criminal's job is to "get away with it" and few counterfeiters get caught. By the time a knock-off is detected, the unscrupulous manufacturer has already pulled back, invisible behind a trail grown cold. Too often the knock-off itself remains unexposed since exact duplication is usually just a matter of cost. Believe it or not, outstanding counterfeit specimens throughout history1 are housed in their own Parisian museum (more about this below in QUICK-TAKE "sidebar").
As expected, the counterfeiting picture varies greatly with geography. Since criminals are motivated by greed, duplicates are usually manufactured to a standard of "just good enough." In the third world, many obvious forgeries result: videocassettes with hand-lettered packaging, watches that keep time but have limited life expectancy and bear the Rolex trademark, open-air markets and street-fairs selling almost nothing but imitation merchandise. Piracy percentages in such countries often run at more than 92%; that's about a dozen fakes for every genuine article. It's easy to spot phony product in these lawless zones, but the criminals do a thriving business and almost never go to jail.
In leading industrial nations, the barriers to successful counterfeiting are much higher.2 Clones good enough to get by are more expensive to manufacture. Laws and law enforcement are primed against illicit copying, with long-standing judicial precedents regarding copyrights, trademarks, and patents. On the other hand, in a country such as the United States, there is such a big pie of consumer dollars that even a small slice may amount to hundreds of millions. Counterfeiters make off with their piece in a number of ways. One, of course, is manufacturing to standards so strict that only an expert can distinguish a fake. They often combine bogus goods with genuine merchandise in orders, including orders returned for credit. Many groups limit their price discounts to 10-25% to obscure the criminal source of the material.
Channel piracy, committed by shadow distribution groups, is the most sinister new trend in the established economies. Criminal organizations, operating as members of the business community in good standing, filter carefully controlled quantities of counterfeit goods into the (market) stream. Though a challenge to pull off, such white-collar crime is lucrative and premeditated in every detail.
Intellectual property is particularly vulnerable to illegal copying because the cost of creation far exceeds the cost of manufacture. To make a marketable copy of a book or movie costs pennies compared to pouring molten metal or mimicking a chemical formula. What's more, the essential value of intellectual property - its content - is clearly displayed and easy to steal. In a time when information and knowledge have become major economic commodities, protection of rights to intellectual property has become a compelling issue.
QUICK-TAKE
Le Musée de la Contrefaçon |  | |
Counterfeiting has been refined to such a high level that The Museum of Counterfeiting in Paris has been dedicated to it since 1951 (managed by the Union of Manufacturers). Hundreds of diverse knock-offs are displayed, often alongside of genuine originals and educational descriptions. Early pieces of counterfeiting dating back to antiquity are included, as well as a representative sampling from a wide range of victimized industries, for example: fashion, textiles, sporting goods, fine leather, auto equipment, timepieces, and foodstuffs such as premium champagne. The cabinets shown below are: floppy disks and software packaging from BSA member companies; a Franco-Roman amphora; and auto goods such as Peugeot headlights. One can't help wishing DVD will not merit its own cabinet. | ||
 Software |
 Fine Art |
 Auto Parts |
Union des Fabricants, 16, rue de la Faisanderie, 75782 PARIS CEDEX 16, phone: 33-1-45-01-5111 | ||
written April 1996 -- please send comments to veyr@primenet.com |  |
© ZOOM TELEVISION, INC. 1996, all rights reserved |