In the News

Counterfeit Museum of Shame

Action Plagiarius, which each year hands out its ‘name and shame' award to deter counterfeiters, has now opened a museum in Solingen, Germany, exhibiting its 30-year collection of counterfeit goods.

In 1977, when Professor Rido Busse announced the first Plagiarius award to a Japanese company for shamelessly copying some scales he had designed for a German interior decoration firm, the event attracted little attention. But the following year several companies sent him counterfeit copies of their original designs and the idea took off. This year the award - a black garden gnome with a golden nose - was handed out to 12 counterfeiting companies for products ranging from petrol pump nozzles, to shopping bags, to medical implements. The publicity resulting from the activities of Action Plagiarus helps to increase awareness among the public of the problem of counterfeiting; and among entrepreneurs and designers of the importance of protecting their IP rights. The organization says that some "prize winners" acknowledge their unethical behavior and seek agreements with the original producer (e.g. payment of a licence or compensation fee, or withdrawal of the product from the market).

Like the award, the Plagiarius Museum, which opened on April 1, focuses on goods produced by small companies and designers. These are the hardest hit by the effects of counterfeiting, often having invested all their resources, as well as their own creative efforts, in getting their product to market. They do not have the consumer brand recognition of major trademarks to protect them, nor the funds and know how to fight off counterfeiters. Action Plagiarius also offers legal advice and workshops to small companies to them help fight against counterfeiters.

EMI Makes High-Quality DRM-Free Downloads Available

EMI Music, the recorded music division of Emi Group, the world's largest independent music company, announced on April 2 that it would make its entire digital repertoire available in high quality downloads and free of digital rights management restrictions (DRM). The premium-quality downloads, launched in Apple's iTunes Stores, are slightly more expensive than the regular quality DRM-protected music which iTunes will continue to...