Counterfeit Brands | Product Fakes | Product Piracy – Counterfeit Experts in Cologne

According to estimates by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK), the annual total economic damage caused by product and brand piracy in Germany alone amounts to 20 to 30 billion euros. Worldwide, the figure is likely over 200 billion euros. Added to this are the loss of numerous jobs and reputational damage to original brands due to low-quality fakes that are not recognised as such. According to the OECD, product counterfeits account for 5 to 9 percent of global trade. These figures are alarming.

China is the piracy world champion, but Europe also counterfeits

The cliché that the Chinese are world champions at copying is indeed accurate. Approximately two-thirds (!) of all statistically recorded product and brand counterfeits originate from the Land of the Rising Sun. In China, product piracy even has its own “scene” name: Shanzhai culture.

 

Recently, Cologne has seen several cases of counterfeit smartphones from the Far East. For example, at the end of 2013, the website christmashandy.com offered original high-end smartphones at very low prices. However, the goods delivered were exclusively cheap imitations. In January 2014, three perpetrators were arrested, imprisoned and convicted. By that time, they had already made a profit of around 600,000 euros – and that in just two months! This case illustrates the sums and economic damage circulating in brand piracy.

The Cologne economy, with its innovative energy and creativity, is internationally recognised for quality. Representing many Cologne companies, Dieter Morszeck, Managing Director of Cologne-based suitcase manufacturer Rimowa GmbH, once stated: “We cannot be the cheapest, but we can be the best.” Those who offer quality and innovation are often imitated – frequently through illegal methods.

 

Despite all your efforts, despite technical monitoring possibilities and the activities of customs authorities, thousands of partially convincing counterfeits flood European markets each year. Everyone knows them: Bundesliga football shirts sold on Turkish market stalls at knockdown prices, Breitling watches, Rolex, Omega and the like sold for a few euros at weekly markets, even counterfeit cigarettes, deodorants and toothpastes with sometimes highly toxic ingredients. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

In all areas of copyright and patent law, copying is rampant. Even at official German trade fairs, these pirated copies and imitations are openly offered for sale. German companies suffer damages amounting to billions – and German employees are deprived of their livelihoods.

 

Kurtz Investigations Cologne works closely with experts in trademark law. We deploy our specialists to identify counterfeit and imitation products. We then investigate the distribution channels of these illegal goods and ensure your claim for compensation and injunction. Let Kurtz Investigations Cologne support you in the fight against the theft of your intellectual property: +49 221 4558 0377.

Pirated Copies, Illegal Copies

The detectives of Kurtz Investigations Cologne also act against so-called pirates. Pirated copies are illegally produced copies of copyrighted material. These are usually media products such as films (pirated DVDs or illegal streaming services), music (pirated CDs, illegal mp3 downloads), software, or increasingly, books (ebooks, pdfs). It is estimated that almost 30 percent of all applications on German computers are pirated copies.