Museum of Counterfeits in Paris alerts visitors
By Kunang Helmi-Picard
PARIS (JP): Visitors to the small, but highly interesting Museum of Counterfeits in Paris are at first amused by the 300 fakes on display, but when they reach the counterfeit motor parts and it dawns on them that they could die as a result of someone else's greed, their smiles vanish.
Unfortunately, medicines are also being faked in increasingly large quantities, so much so that you may count yourself lucky if the pill you just popped is only a placebo and not a random chemical invention.
Later on, visitors are informed that most counterfeiters are not harmless small tradesmen, but giant international criminal networks, including drug barons who can afford the increasingly sophisticated equipment needed to copy the original products and launder their money through the world-wide distribution of counterfeits.
The oldest example of counterfeit in the museum located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris is an amphora, dating from Gallo- Roman times. Found by famed marine explorer Commander Cousteau off the Mediterranean coast, it has been proved that the clay corks were faked. The wine jar compliments a range of faked liquor labels and bottles dating from late last century when the hunt for counterfeiters was first officially launched in France.
Contemporary leather briefcases, copies of prestigious handbags, jewelry, sports shoes, textiles and articles for interior decorating prove that the original designers lost many hours perfecting their idea to those who copied them in a flash.
Copyrights
An art deco lamp of a graceful woman leaning backwards and its crude counterfeit tell a sad story. The son of the artist Max Le Verrier who continued to produce the lamp in restricted series went bankrupt because of cheap counterfeits. It is interesting to note that registered international copyright is valid for twenty five years, after which it can only be renewed for another twenty five years before becoming public property.
The sympathetic public relations officer of the museum, Evelyne Vinay, disseminates information about the world of counterfeits to the public as well as concerned companies or individuals. Viany explained that the French Union of Manufacturers for the International Protection of Industrial and Artistic Copyrights was founded in 1872 by manufacturers concerned about counterfeits, generally in the liquor and perfume industry but also industrial inventions.
The museum was opened 1951 and early this year underwent a complete renovation by Franco-Vietnamese designer Christian Duc. The 800 member companies and 50 member professional federations concurrently decided to launch a massive campaign to inform the public about the dangers of counterfeits. Massive employment problems caused by lost markets, as well as health and safety dangers when children's toys are copied without being tested, are some of the negative results of the seemingly innocuous fakes.
A counterfeit is generally thought of in terms of the damage incurred by the owner of a trademark, but is also applied to intellectual copyrights, such as the copying of a text, idea or design belonging to someone else. The first rule of counterfeiters is that the resemblance should mask the differences.
Legally the French Union of Manufacturers defines the damage incurred with the following: * Total or partial reproduction of someone else's trademark. * Imitation of the trademark which aims at confusing the public. * Fraudulent use of someone else's trademark. * Use of someone else's trademark without authorization of the owner. * Substitution of the product demanded. * Import or export of merchandise presented under a counterfeit trademark.
Vinay explained that in the food business manufacturers were sometimes powerless to act against huge distribution chains who, for example, copied their particular mixture of yogurt because the same distribution chains would boycott the company's products in their mammoth supermarkets. This leads to similar products being offered at the same store, with the distribution chain selling a less expensive no-name version and capitalizing on years of expensive research conducted by the food manufacturing company.
A similar phenomena has been going on for years in the perfume and cosmetic industries and was one of the hotly discussed subjects at the first international congress devoted to the Creation, Fabrication and Communication of Perfume and Cosmetic Companies organized in mid-June in Paris.
Elyette Roux, chairman of the MBA program specializing in "Luxury Brand Management" of the French National College of Economy and Commercial Studiesx spoke about quality being guaranteed in cosmetics and perfume. This is to protect the tradition and experience of established companies coupled with their continual research, production controls, distribution and follow-up service, all of which do not apply to counterfeit brands. Many faked perfumes that vaguely resemble known brands lose their fragrance rapidly or smell entirely different after being used a few times. They may even cause allergies and skin problems because they have not been stringently tested in laboratories. Another novel problem is that of patenting the perfume juices -- the basic chemical formula of each perfume -- has yet to be undertaken, but in view of the rapid increase of pirating, international legalization to protect these formulas is now being investigated.
70 percent
According to studies carried out under the auspices of the French Union of Manufacturers, Southeast Asia represents 70 percent of the world production of counterfeits. Thailand manufactures textiles, leather ware and watch counterfeits; China pirates compact disks, computer programs, shoes, perfumes and alcohol; and South Korea and Taiwan excel in copying a whole range of products. An official South Korean Trade delegation will visit the Union of Manufacturers to talk about the problem of Korean counterfeits flooding the market. The South Korean Chamber of Commerce regards their reputation for manufacturing counterfeits as negatively affecting the image of South Korean trade. A cooperation program may be installed to combat this problem.
The remaining 30 percent of the world production of counterfeits is carried out around the Mediterranean. In Italy, textiles, leather ware, metal work, watches, spare parts, shoes, books, electronics, video and audio cassettes are copied; in Spain toys, perfumes, leather ware, textiles, jewelry are counterfeited; while in Turkey machines, spare parts, perfumes, pharmaceutical goods and cosmetics are faked; and in Morocco leather ware and textiles are reproduced.
According to the 1993 annual report of the French National Institute of Industrial Copyright (INPI), it is clear that national economic heritage is not confined to natural resources and infrastructure, but is also based on technological achievements and creativity. Industrial copyrights, by means of patents and other legal methods, seek to protect these rights. This means that international rights governing industrial copyright are of utmost importance and are currently the subject of many international conferences and agreements such as recent GATT negotiations.
The INPI diffuses information about this problem through eleven centers scattered around France. Documents, microfilm, CD- ROMs and archives inform potential vendors if a trademark already exists. The Institute also organizes seminars about the problem of industrial copyrights for companies and schools to support the Union of Manufacturers in their effort to make all information about counterfeits public. The INPI also publishes requests for patent trademarks, new inventions, and designs and models annually. In 1993 nearly 15,000 requests to prolong patents of 27,000 designs and models were registered.
Concerted efforts by customs officials and the Ministry of Industry and Economy have been launched to combat smuggling of counterfeits. Recently legislation has been tightened. Even a tourist caught in France with a counterfeit is subject to stiff penalties.
All this isn't far from the amusement experienced when admiring at the museum the inventive spirits of the those who fake brand names that are sure to mislead shoppers in a hurry. It's a pity that such inventive spirits do not concentrate on inventing something entirely new and beneficial for humankind instead of running after the fast buck.