These are the most shameless plagiarisms of 2018

Plagiarius 2018 These are the most shameless plagiarisms of 2018

22.02.2018Editor: Rosemarie Stahl

Each year, the Aktion Plagiarius society awards the most shameless forgeries and imitations of products. In 2018, ten products were awarded with the negative prize.

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Aktion Plagiarius e. V.

Don't be fooled: The two products are not the same. Only the left one really is the kitchen cutting deveice “Nicer Dicer Plus” by Genius GmbH, while the other one is a plagiarism that comes with blunt and easily breaking cutting blades. The product was awarded the first prize of the Plagiarius Award 2018, a prize created to rise the awareness for theft of ideas.
(Source: Aktion Plagiarius e.V.)

The trade of plagiarised and fake products is extremely lucrative. The offenders are comprised of unimaginative competitors, unscrupulous vendors, and at its most extreme, organised crime. Apart from the Internet and digital communication, gullible bargain-hunters and an insufficient penalisation of the offenders ensure the rampant spread of this problem. As the damages for the brand name producers and the safety risks for consumers are immense, a sensitisation of the consumer world as well as more drastic measures against manufacturers and distributors of counterfeits are crucial.

The “Plagiarius” trophy — a black gnome with a golden nose — is a symbol of the exorbitant earnings product pirates collect at the cost of innovative companies. This gnome was created to express the German aphorism “to earn oneself a golden nose” which means, “to earn a fortune”.
(Source: Aktion Plagiarius e.V.)

On February 09, 2018 the negative award “Plagiarius” — created by designer Prof. Rido Busse — was bestowed at a press conference during the annual “Ambiente” in Frankfurt, one of the largest consumer goods trade fairs. Since 1977, Aktion Plagiarius e.V. grants this anti-prize to manufacturers and distributors of the most flagrant plagiarisms and counterfeits.

Gallery

The “winner” of this year's Plagiarius award is a plagiarism of a kitchen cutting device. The counterfeiter copies numerous products of Genius, including the trademark “Genius” and the product names, and promotes them online, at trade fairs, on street markets and via catalogue. The cutting blades of the forgery are blunt and easily break, the plastic contains harmful substances.
Original (left): Kitchen cutting device “Nicer Dicer Plus” by Genius GmbH, Germany; Plagiarism (right): Pingyang County Leyi Gift Co., Ltd., China.

The second prize of the Plagiarius was awarded to an inflatable water park. The imitator copies the product, meaning the complete Sports Park including all details such as life vests, and uses the original “Wibit-hand”-design mark. Additionally, he adopted concept and music of the original Wibit commercial video.
Original (left): Inflatable water park “Wibit Sports Park XL” by Wibit Sports GmbH, Germany; Plagiarism (right): Sunny Kingdom, China

Plagiarism also affects childrens' toys. This toy racer even made the third prize. Design and technology are a 100% copy of the original product. The cheap materials (shell, wheels, steering wheel) and poor workmanship (surfaces) reflect the inferior quality.
Original (left): Puky Racer by Puky GmbH & Co. KG, Germany; Plagiarism (right): Manufactured by Xingtai Kurbao Toys Co., Ltd., China, and distributed online, for example, via Alibaba.com.

The copy of the silicone moulds “Amorini” were also awarded a Plagiarius. The product design is a 100% copy of the original product. Also, the packaging design and the name “Siliko” are almost identical and therefore misleading.
Original (left): Silikomart, Italy ; Plagiarism (right): distributed by Ningbo Globalway Industry & Trade Co., Ltd., China.

Gallery with 10 images

The goal is to denounce the unscrupulous business practices of counterfeiters who pilfer intellectual property and pass it off as their own creative achievement. The society also want to raise public awareness of this complex problem that concerns industry, consumers and politicians. Likewise, the perception of the significance and effectiveness of intellectual property rights, and equally the appreciation for creative accomplishments should be enhanced. It is a principal concern for Aktion Plagiarius to bring the uniqueness of an original product home to entrepreneurs and private persons. Aktion Plagiarius also wants to make clear that the process from ideation to a market-ready product is time-consuming, costly and requires innovative energy.

These were the winners of the Plagiarius Award in 2017:

The form of the award, a gnome, was created to express the German aphorism "to earn oneself a golden nose" meaning to earn a lot of money. (Aktion Plagiarius)

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