The jury met on March 5 + 6, 2021 - corona-compliant in individual sessions and in a virtual final evaluation - and awarded three main prizes and seven equally ranked awards. Detailed information (including detailed captions) on the award ceremony can be found in our press release dated April 16, 2021.
The 'laudatory speech' for the award winners was given by Peter Siebert, Managing Director of HANSI-Siebert GmbH & Co. KG and new Chairman of the Board of Aktion Plagiarius e.V. Frank Buckenhofer, Chairman of the Police Union in Customs, gave a welcoming address.
The products honored with the negative "Plagiarius" award once again show the enormous range of industries affected by plagiarism. Of course, the "Plagiarius" award says nothing about whether the imitation in question is legally permitted or illegal. The Plagiarius campaign cannot pronounce law. However, it can draw attention to the problems of affected companies and express the opinion "that clumsy 1:1 imitations are unimaginative and morally reprehensible and lead to stagnation".
Photos: left original - right plagiarism / counterfeit
Exception 1st prize: above original / below fake
1st prize - "STIHL MS 250" chainsaw
Top Original: ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, Waiblingen, Germany
Bottom Counterfeit: Hangzhou Guley Garden Machinery Co, Ltd, PR China
The counterfeit infringes the word mark "STIHL" (here: STHIL) as well as the color mark (orange/light grey), which is protected in over 100 countries. Guley is one of the TOP3 counterfeiters of STIHL products in China with customers mainly in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. STIHL has so far won 8 court cases against Guley and received a total of € 170,000 in damages. Counterfeit chainsaws generally do not comply with legal regulations or safety-relevant parameters (exhaust emission values, chain braking times, material strength, etc.). STIHL consistently calls counterfeiters from all over the world to account, also to protect users from injury/health risks.
2nd prize - Electric brake bleeding device "ERS 5"
Left Original: MANOTEC Industrielle Automation, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Right Plagiarism: Manufacture: PR China
Distribution: Czech supplier via eBay and Amazon
This cheap knock-off does not comply in any way with the legal regulations for electrical and pressure devices: dangerous wiring, contamination, a pressure regulator that is not suitable for brake fluid. The device is leaky, so that electrical lines are undermined - a blind plug prevents the equalization of negative pressure. The labeling is incorrect: "Aump" instead of "Amp" for Ampère. The imitator has taken an original MANOTEC photo and merely retouched some of its control buttons. Due to the registered design protection, MANOTEC regularly has infringing online offers deleted.
3rd prize - "Up-Lift" sofa bed
Left Original: Prostoria d.o.o., Sv. Kriz Zacretje, Croatia
Right Plagiarism: Oxygen Corp. Limited, London, Great Britain
Sale via: privatefloor.com / myfaktory.com
Prostoria has registered design protection in many countries for its award-winning "Up-Lift" product line. The imitator copies the design, function and product name 1:1, so that there is a risk of confusion. Oxygen sells imitations of various renowned manufacturers online: "Our products are manufactured to the same standards as the originals, but we sell them at a discount of up to 90%...We produce high-quality reproductions. Great design available for everyone". In fact, materials and workmanship are extremely cheap. The inferior counterfeits not only harm the original manufacturers, but also the consumer.
Award - Hybrid hooded cardigan "e.s.motion ten
Left Original: engelbert strauss GmbH & Co. KG, Biebergemünd, Germany Right Plagiarism: ALDI SÜD Dienstleistungs-GmbH & Co. oHG, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany The design, concept and material mix of the functional jacket were adopted almost 1:1: An elastic melange knit on the sleeves and sides for mobility - padded, warming quilted zones on the hood and in the torso area - the striking left chest pocket made of knit with vertical zipper and much more. The original enjoys (unregistered) EU-wide design protection. ALDI SOUTH does not see any design infringement, but wanted to talk to engelbert strauss (so far this has not happened). The low price is reflected in the quality.
Award - baking form "Formfix"
Left Original: Niederrheinische Formenfabrik Janssen GmbH, Krefeld, Germany
Right Plagiarism: Handymach, Trabzon, Turkey The FormFix 105 - designed by Walter Janssen in the middle of the 20th century - is the smallest pastry former from the family-owned manufacturer NFF Janssen, founded in 1872, and is ideal for small bakeries and patisseries. Since October 2020, the pastry shaper has been copied 1:1 by Turkish supplier Handymach: Design, construction, function, recipes (accurate to the gram), roller motifs and even parts of the video's choreography. The company does not respond to contact requests from Germany and does not deliver orders.
Award - "Polygon" armchair
Left Original: Prostoria d.o.o., Sv. Kriz Zacretje, Croatia Right Plagiarism: M-Edition, London, Great Britain Prostoria has registered design protection in many countries for the award-winning "Polygon" (= polygon) product line. The imitator copied the design and product name and distributed the plagiarized product via its website and social media. His business principle: "We strive to perfectly reproduce iconic designs, manufacture them to the same standards as the originals and make them affordable for everyone". The cheap materials, poor workmanship (glued, mismatched screws) and lack of comfort disprove this. Following a warning, a cease-and-desist letter was signed and the sale of Polygon was stopped.
Award - Foldable dish drainer "SPACE WONDER"
Left Original: Rotho Kunststoff AG, Würenlingen, Switzerland Right Plagiarism: TUFFEX / Topcu Plastik San. ve Dis. Tic Ltd. Sti, Istanbul, Turkey Sales: Polish online retailer Form, function and individual design details were adopted 1:1 - the overall impression is identical. However, the plastic is cheaper and the folding points break easily. The Polish supplier has withdrawn the counterfeit products from the market and is now selling the Rotho original. TUFFEX has claimed that sales have been stopped, but the counterfeit is still being offered on the website.
Award - Step drill "ULTIMATECUT RUKO"
Left Original: RUKO GmbH Präzisionswerkzeuge, Holzgerlingen, Germany Right Plagiarism: Karnasch Professional Tools GmbH, Heddesheim, Germany The imitator has adopted 1:1 all the innovative product features and individual design details of the newly developed ULTIMATECUT step drill developed by RUKO, without this being technically necessary: the number of drilling steps, diameter and height of the individual steps, the cutting geometry, center point and the radii at the step transitions. RUKO has applied for a patent for the ULTIMATE-CUT step drills, the granting process is still ongoing. Karnasch disputes the novelty and argues that the "prior art" is freely usable and is not prepared to sign a cease-and-desist declaration.
Award - Easyfix Classic and Easyfix Classic light Christmas tree stands
Left Originals: Tannen-Paradies GmbH, Berlin, Germany Right Counterfeits: Distribution: Gerrit Brinkman Bloemen- en Plantenhandel V.O.F., Wenum Wiesel, Netherlands The counterfeiter had been purchasing the original Easyfix Christmas tree stands from the Dutch exclusive partner of Tannen-Paradies since 2012 and distributing them in the Netherlands. Since 2019, he has been selling his visually and colorwise confusingly similar counterfeits and promoting them not only in the Netherlands, but also at trade fairs in several European countries. The counterfeits are less stable and the plastic is not made from recycled plastic, as is customary for Tannen-Paradies and also required by retailers. The imitator argues that the design is not 'protectable' and denies slavish imitation.
Award - Doorstop series "Screw or Glue"
Left Originals: Wagner System GmbH, Lahr, Germany Right Plagiarism: WALTECO s.r.o., Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic The design of the doorstop series is taken over 1:1, the overall impression of the 3 originals and the 3 plagiarisms is identical. Visible screws on the plagiarism and minimal differences on the underside of the doorstops do not change this. Walteco has not signed the required cease-and-desist declaration and a lawsuit by Wagner System GmbH against WALTECO s.r.o. is currently pending.
The press release on the occasion of the Plagiarius competition 2021 can be found here.
Further information can be found at
www.museum-plagiarius.de.
