PLAGIARIUS-AWARDING 2004
Initiated already back in 1977 by Prof. Rido Busse,
the negative award "Plagiarius" serves
to inform the public about the problem of fakes
and plagiarisms and the negative impacts they have
on not only the economy as a whole, but also on
small companies and designers. Action Plagiarius
awards the negative award at the annual “Ambiente”
trade fair during a press conference. The award
is given to those com-panies that the jury has found
guilty of making "the most flagrant" design
imitations. As his key figure, Busse chose a gnome,
which he painted black with a gold nose to signify
the “illicit earnings from product imitation”.
Admittedly, there is no progress and development
without referring to already existing patterns,
ideas and rules. However what counts is the willingness
to develop the existing and give it an individual
and distinctive style. The imitators pursue one
goal only: to profit at the expense of the hard
work of others – and this affects the creatives
and the consumers likewise.
The European Commission estimates that 10% of world-wide
commerce are fakes and plagiarisms and that copying
products causes worldwide economic losses of $200
to $300 billion as well as the loss of 200,000 jobs
each year. Tendency: rising! The figures are alarming
and have given the topic the adequate seriousness.
For a long time the problem of product and brand
piracy has been considered as a peccadillo –
now, with these fast growing numbers plus the fact
that a correlation between product fakes and terrorism
has been revealed, it has become a major problem
that governments world-wide have to face.
But why are business with plagiarisms and fakes
so lucative and the dimension of the problem is
increasing despite the fact that numerous (inter-)national
institutions are trying very hard to gain control
of the problem.
A number of factors explain why:
- The imitators copy successful products only, thereby
saving on expensive costs for R&D and Marketing
and profiting from high sales volumes and profit
margins
- Furthermore they also save on material costs and
production costs by outsourcing the production to
foreign countries where the cost is much lower resulting
in sometimes lower quality products which ultimately
is at the expense of the con-sumer. They also neglect
any standands concerning quality, ecology, safety
etc.
- Rising globalisation and technological progress
– generally positive developments –
unfortunately support the deterioration of the problem:
Global transparency and new techniques such as digital
cameras, scanners, email, the internet etc. allow
the criminals to become faster and better –
in production and retail.
- Anti-smuggling campaigns e.g. in Southeast Asia
force the criminals to "reorganize". Due
to intense prosecution, high penalties and decreasing
tariff rates (see WTO-membership of China) smuggling
has become most unattractive.
- The penalties for production and sales of plagairisms
and fakes, however, are quite low. Although it is
possible per law to impose a 5-year prison-sentence,
mostly the imitators have to pay a financial penalty
fee only. (high profit – low risk)
Within the EU new laws have improved the situation
for creatives in recent times. One crucial step
e.g. is the new community design, which exists in
two versions:
a) the Registered Community Design
As of April 1, 2003 it is possible to register a
‘Community Design’ at the Office for
Harmonization in Alicante/Spain (www.oami.eu.int)
which provides EU-wide protection for up to 25 years
for the appearance of a new product.
b) the Unregistered Community Design
The ‘Unregistered Community Design’
(UCD) has already been in existence since March
6, 2002 - it is created by a simple disclosure of
the design and is protected for 3 years.
But what means ‘disclosure’ and how
can it be proven, especially at the court of justice?
www.designpublisher.com – a service of Plagiarius
Consultancy has set itself the goal of presenting
new designs on the Internet cheaply, effectively
and well-organized and thus of satisfying the ‘disclosure’
requirement. It guarantees that the appearance of
a product is published on a specific date which
proof can be provided. Within 12 months of the first
disclosure there is the opportunity to change and
register a community design at the Office for Harmonization
in Alicante/Spain (www.oami.eu.int) which allows
to observe the market for 1 year and then decide
whether a 3-year protection is sufficient or a protection
of up to 25 years is sensible. Additionally designpublisher
serves as an intermediary between designers and
producers. The “licence”-button gives
designers the opportunity to offer their new designs
to potential licensees. Producers can filter the
database and search for licence offers.
The Jury of Plagiarius 2004:
Each year the jury is put together individually
with specialists from Design, Intellectual Property,
Economics, Media etc. The following persons formed
this years' jury:
- Dr. Doris André, former CEO Human Resources
BAT British American Tobacco, Hamburg
- Prof. Dr. Till Behrens, Designer / Architect,
Frankfurt
- Sabine Gaschütz, Head of the Economics Department
SÜDWESTRUNDFUNK (Television), Stuttgart
- Julia Goll, Judge, Leonberg
- Dr. Michael Loschelder, General Manager GRUR –
German Association for Intellectual Property and
Copyright, Cologne
- Wolf-Peter Schwarz, Ehinger-Schwarz GmbH &
Co. KG, Ulm
- Alexander Wetzig, Mayor of Ulm
Legal Advice:
- Dr. Aliki Busse, Lawyer, Busse & Partner,
Munich
The Prize-Winners of Plagiarius 2004:
The jury met on January 17, 2004. Three prizes,
seven distinctions and three special prizes have
been awarded; total entities: 35.
1. Prize
Davoser Folding Sled
Original: rudisport Spiel- und Sportgeräte,
Ulm, Germany
Plagiarism: Producer: Funcenter Industrial Inc.,
Taipei, Taiwan Distribution: Schreuders Sport Intl.
B.V., Leerdam, The Netherlands
2. Prize
Jug "Modern Classic No. 1"
Original: alfi GmbH, Wertheim, Germany
Plagiarism: Taizhou Dongbao Plastic Vessel Co. Ltd.,
Huangyan, China
3. Prize
Electrically heated Hand-Dryer HTE 4
Original: Stiebel Eltron GmbH, Holzminden, Germany
Plagiarism: GENESIS, Zhejiang, China
Seven Distinctions (equal in rank) were awarded
to:
Folder "trend"
Original: dataplus GmbH Kratzert & Schrem, Pfullendorf,
Germany
Plagiarism: Aulfes GmbH, Cham, Germany
Box for coffee pads
After the Plagiarius Award Ceremony both parties
involved found a mutual agreement. The imitator
removed all copies from his shops.
Toy Vehicle "Potato Harvester Grimme"
Original: BRUDER Spielwaren GmbH + Co. KG, Fürth,
Germany
Plagiarism: Impag Toys Europe B.V., Winschoten,
The Netherlands
Salad Spinner "Good Grips"
Original: OXO International, New York, USA
Plagiarism: KAKUSE Co. Ltd., Niigata-ken, Japan
Kitchen Aid-Set "Profile"
Original: Brabantia Nederland B.V., Waalre, The
Netherlands
Plagiarism: Leifheit AG, Nassau, Germany
PROLYTE BOX–30V – Variable corner element
for square truss
Original: PROLYTE PRODUCTS Group, Leek, The Netherlands
Plagiat: Milos s.r.o., Roudnice nad Labem, Czech
Republic
Extralarge Lighters XXL Match Lighter / XL Baby
Match Lighter
Original: WFG Werbeartikel GmbH, Eschborn, Germany
Plagiat: Wenzhou Success Group Co. Ltd., Zhejiang,
China
The following three special prizes have been awarded
to:
"Special Award for a Falsification"
Set of Erasers
Original: FABER-CASTELL AG, Stein, Germany
Fake : Zhengjiang Zhengda Stationery Co. Ltd., Zhejiang,
China
"Special Award for a Falsification"
"Red Dot Award: Intl. Yearbook Communication
Design 2002/2003"
Original: Publisher: avedition GmbH, Ludwigsburg,
Germany
Editor: Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, Essen, Germany
Fake: Chinese Company, Name unknown
"Sordid Mind Prize" (For Distributors)
Lights "Bead Light Line"
Original: Hartmut Räder Wohnzubehör GmbH
u. Co. KG, Bochum, Germany
Plagiarism: Distribution: Blokker GmbH, Wetzlar,
Germany
The award ceremony of "Plagiarius 2004"
takes place on February 20, 2004, starting at 11:30
a.m., room Illusion 1-3, at the Congress Center,
Frankfurt Fair "Ambiente".
The laudatory speech on the prize winners will be
held by Prof. Dr. h.c. Lothar Späth, former
Minister President.
Plagiarius Exhibition:
The plagiarius prize winners of 2003 and 2004 will
be presented at Foyer 4.1 during the Ambiente (February
20-24, 2004).
Additionally we will present the *Special Show*
"Tempo" – 1 Original
and 100 Plagiarisms
The unique collection is a laon of Christian Rommel,
ROX Asia Consultancy Ltd., Hong Kong. The collection
shows with one single product the whole extend and
range of Asian plagiarism.
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