PLAGIARIUS-AWARDING 2003
Since 1977 Action Plagiarius annually awards the
negative prize "Plagiarius" to designers and companies
who produce identical copies of other companies'
products for their own profit. An act that is most
brazen and unscrupulous. Symbol is the black gnome
with the gold nose (earnings through plagiarism).
The imitators do not only save expensive costs for
R&D and marketing, mostly they produce in low-cost
countries, thus also saving production costs. Additionally
to the economic loss creatives suffer image and
reputation losses because the imitators often use
inferior materials which negatively influence the
quality of the product. In some industries, such
as medicine, toys or technical spare parts, poor
quality can even be perilous.
As every year numerous units (originals + plagiarisms)
had been handed in to Action Plagiarius to participate
in the competition: The prize winners emphasize
the urgency of registering intellectual property
rights and to defend them at court against imitators.
Often the distribution of plagiarisms and the import
into key markets could be stopped by preliminary
injunctions or forbearance declarations. Also the
use of markings/codes to clearly identify the originals
gains significance sometimes these markings are
the only way to distinguish originals from plagiarisms.
The following persons formed this years' jury:
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Goll, Former Minister of Justice,
Stuttgart
- Richard A. Hussmanns, Managing Director Steiff
Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Giengen / Brenz
- Dr. Peter Mihatsch, Chairman of the Supervisory
Board of Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Munich
- Michael Nagel, Criminal Detective, Federal Bureau
of Criminal Investigation, Wiesbaden
- Christl Schwörer, Shareholder PERI GmbH, Weißenhorn
- Prof. Iso Wagner, Director of the polytechnic
Schwäbisch Hall
Legal Advice:
- Dr. Aliki Busse, Lawyer, Busse + Partner, Munich
The jury met on January 18, 2003. Three prizes,
five distinctions and five special prizes have been
awarded; total entities: 48.
- The 1. Prize goes to ALUTOP AG, Vaduz, Liechtenstein,
for the copy of an industrial profile line of item
GmbH, Solingen, Germany.
- The 2. Prize has been awarded to Heart Basket,
Seoul, Korea for the copy of the mug + minisnack-plate
of the "Update" program of KAHLA/Thüringen Porzellan
GmbH, Kahla, Germany.
- The 3. Prize goes to Zhejiang Hangyu Ind. Co.Ltd.,
Zhejiang, China for the copies of the TS 400 of
ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, Waiblingen, Germany.
Five Distinctions were awarded to:
- Better Design Products Company Ltd., Ningbo, China
for the copy of the isolation can "La Ola" of alfi
Zitzmann GmbH, Wertheim, Germany
- Kobrink & Wagner GmbH, Essen, Germany for the
copies of the rings "Roses" / "Waterlilies" of designer
Julia Oehler, Stuttgart, Germany
- Rubinetterie Zazzeri S.p.A., Bagno a Ripoli, Italy
for the copy of the bathhroom armature "Tara" of
Aloys F. Dornbracht GmbH & Co. KG, Iserlohn, Germany
- Chinese company, name unknown for the copy of
the showerset "Relexa Plus Top 4" of Friedrich Grohe
AG & Co. KG, Hemer, Germany
- Chinese company, name unknown for the copy of
the showerset / spray head "Relexa Plus Top 4" of
Friedrich Grohe AG & Co. KG, Hemer, Germany The
following five special prices have been awarded:
- The "Special Award for Persistent Plagiarism"
goes to M. Westermann & Co. GmbH, Arnsberg, Germany
for the copy of the Swing Chair Modell 0.2 of designer
Prof. Dr. Till Behrens, Frankfurt, Germany
- The "Special Award for a Falsification" has been
awarded to a chinese company, name unknown, for
the fake of the kitchen knives "GLOBAL" of MASTER
Cutlery Corporation, Funabashi, Japan
- The "Sordid Mind Prize" (for distribution of plagiarisms)
has been awarded to Norma Warenhandel GmbH, Nürnberg,
Germany, for selling plagiarisms of the cork screw
"Leverpull Metal Edition" of Le Creuset GmbH, Notzingen,
Germany
- A further "Sordid Mind Prize" (for distribution
of plagiarisms) has been awarded to Leißler GmbH
Gernsheim and Weinsheim + Noor Handels GmbH, Rodgau,
both Germany, for selling plagiarisms of the rinsing
brush "tim" of Koziol >>ideas for friends GmbH,
Erbach, Germany
- NEW ! The "Special Award for a Series Perpetrator"
has been awarded to China Tuhsu Zhejiang Tea I/E
Corp, Hangzhou, China for the following 11 copies
of Koziol >>ideas for friends GmbH, Erbach, Germany.
Egg Cup Olaf, Bottle Opener Froschkönig, Bottle
Opener X-Ray, Hook Bunny, Bath Thermometer Joe Pool,
Cork Screw Sancho, Photoholder Kookoo, CD-Holder
DJ, Phone Butler Johnny, Vegetable Brush Tweetie,
Spaghetti-Fork Gina
The awarding of "plagiarius 2003" takes place on
February 14, 2003, starting at 11:30 a.m., room
Illusion 1-3, at the Congress Center, Frankfurt
Fair.
The laudatory speech on the prize winners will be
held by Dr. Ingo Kober, President of the European
Patent Office, Munich.
The plagiarius prize winners of 2002 and 2003 will
presented at Foyer 4.1 during the Ambiente.
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