The spread of counterfeiting

IMITATION is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery, but that is not how most brands see it. On March 1st Philip Morris, a tobacco giant, sued eight American retailers for selling counterfeit versions of its Marlboro cigarettes. Thanks to the rise of the internet and of extended international supply chains, and more recently, to the global economic downturn, counterfeit goods are everywhere. Fake Porsches and Ferraris zoom along the streets of Bangkok. A German bank has discovered an ersatz gold ingot made of tungsten in its reserves, according to a German television channel investigating persistent reports that many of the world’s financial institutions have been similarly hoodwinked. NASA, America’s space agency, has even bought suspect materials.
模仿应该是一种最真诚的恭维，不过这可不是大部分的品牌厂商所乐见的。在三月一日，一家烟草巨擘摩理斯(Philip Morris)，对八家贩卖仿冒其品牌Marlboro香烟的美国零售商提起了告诉。仿冒品现在是随处可见，这要归因于网络的崛起，无远弗届的国际供应链，还有最近世界的不景气。在泰国曼谷街上，仿冒的保时捷(Porsche)和法拉利(Ferrari)呼啸而过。一家德国的银行在他们的金库里发现了一锭由钨制成的假造金块。而根据一个德国电视频道的调查报告，许多世界上的金融机构也都如出一辙的被蒙了。美国的太空总署NASA甚至购入了有问题的制造材料。

Counterfeiting “used to be a luxury goods problem”, says Therese Randazzo, who is in charge of protecting intellectual property at America’s customs service. Now people are trying to traffic counterfeit items that have a “wider effect on the economy”, she says, such as pharmaceuticals and computer parts. A new study by America’s Department of Commerce shows that fakes have even infiltrated the army. The number of counterfeit parts in military electronics systems more than doubled between 2005 and 2008, potentially damaging high-tech weapons.
在美国海关主管知识产权事务的伦达索(Therese Randazzo)说，仿冒”在过去是奢侈品才有的问题”。她又说，现在人们开始尝试走私”会对经济造成广泛影响”的物品，例如药品和计算机零件。一项美国商务部的新研究指出，假货甚至渗透到美国陆军里去了。美军电子系统中的仿冒零件数量在2005年到2008年之间增加超过一倍，因而可能损及他们高科技的武器。

The OECD estimates that the international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods was worth around $250 billion in 2007. The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC), a lobby group, says the true figure is actually closer to $600 billion, because the OECD’s estimate does not include online piracy or counterfeits that are sold in the same country as they are made. Counterfeit goods make up 5-7% of world trade, according to the IACC.
根据经济合作与发展组织(OECD)估计，国际上仿冒品和盗版品在2007年的贸易总值约为两千五百亿美元。国际反仿冒联盟(International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition，IACC)这个说客集团，则认为真正的数字应接近六千亿美元，因为OECD的估计并不包括网络盗版和在同一个国家制造及贩卖的仿冒品。根据IACC的说法，仿冒品占世界贸易的5-7%。

Several factors have contributed to the growth of counterfeiting in recent years. The shift of much of the world’s manufacturing to countries with poor protection of intellectual property has provided both the technology and the opportunity to make knock-offs. The internet in general, and e-commerce sites like eBay in particular, have made it easier to distribute counterfeit goods. MarkMonitor, a firm that helps companies defend brands online, estimates that sales of counterfeit goods via the internet will reach $135 billion this year.
近几年仿冒品的成长是归因于几个因素。大部份世界上的制造转移到对知识产权低度保护的国家，因而提供了仿冒商科技和机会来制造便宜的假货。一般而言，网络，特别是像eBay这样的网购网站，使得仿冒品能更容易的流通。根据马克监视(MarkMonitor)这家在网络上帮助维护品牌的公司估计，经由网络销售的仿冒品今年将达到一千三百五十亿美元。

The recession in the rich world may also have given a boost to counterfeit goods. Frederick Mostert of the Authentics Foundation, an anti-counterfeiting group, has noticed a “spike” in knock-offs this recession, as consumers short of money trade down from the real thing. Cost-cutting measures may also have made firms’ supply chains more vulnerable to counterfeit parts. In 2008 the value of fake goods seized at America’s borders increased by nearly 40% over the year before. It subsequently fell by 4% last year—far less than the 25% decline in imports overall (see chart). In Europe in 2008 customs services confiscated more than double the previous year’s haul of counterfeit goods.
富有国家的经济衰退也可能助长了仿冒品。在一个称做正牌基金会(Authentics Foundation)的反仿冒集团工作的莫斯特(Frederick Mostert) 说，他注意到在这次衰退中便宜假货数量上的激增，因为消费者在金钱短缺的情况下用次级品把真货取代了。企业界降低成本的措施，也可能导致仿冒的零件出现在他们供应炼里的风险。2008年时，在美国边境被查扣的假货，价值比前一年增加了接近40%。虽然去年查扣的价值下跌了4%，不过比起全部进口总值减少的25%却要好得多了(见图)。在2008年，欧洲海关查扣了比前一年多两倍的仿冒品。

Businesses, which feel the revenues lost to counterfeiters all the more acutely in a downturn, are making an even greater effort to root out impostors. Complaints from Louis Vuitton, a luxury-goods firm, for example, led to nearly 9,500 seizures of knock-offs last year, 31% more than in 2008. Lawsuits brought by companies against manufacturers and distributors of counterfeits are at an all-time high, says Kirsten Gilbert, a partner at Marks & Clerk Solicitors, a British law firm.
企业界在不景气中更加强烈的感受到因仿冒品而失去的营收，也因而更加努力的想将仿冒商揪出来。奢侈品公司LV在去年所做的抱怨，导致了将近9,500件假货的查扣，比2008年要多31%。一家英国法律事务所(Marks & Clerk Solicitors)的合伙人葛伯特(Kirsten Gilbert)说，企业对仿冒品的制造商和配销商所提起的告诉达到了史无前例的数量。

The technology used to counter pirates is also becoming more sophisticated. Holograms are a cheap way to distinguish real items from fakes, although counterfeiters are getting better at copying them. Special inks, watermarking, and other “covert” technologies (meaning those invisible to the naked eye) are becoming more popular as a result. Many “brand protection” firms have also started to peddle radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to help companies track shipments. This allows firms to tag boxes and crates with chips which send out signals identifying them as authentic.
用来反制盗版的科技也日新月异。全息标签(Holograms)是一种可以用来区别真伪的便宜科技，不过仿冒者复制这种标签的技术也越来越好。因此，特殊墨水、水印、以及其他”隐蔽”(肉眼无法看见)的科技也正变得更受欢迎。许多的”品牌保护”公司也已经开始贩卖无线识别科技(RFID)来帮助企业追踪他们的产品。公司可以在包装的纸箱和板条箱上贴上这种芯片，其发射的讯号可以用来辨识真伪。

The most foolproof technique for identifying genuine goods involves incorporating materials with special genetic markers into the packaging or product itself. Firms or officials can then literally check an item’s DNA to ensure that it is real. This is more expensive than other anti-counterfeiting measures, but companies with very valuable wares, such as the grandest wineries, are splurging on it. James Hayward, the boss of DNA Applied Sciences, which sells such technology, insists that new clients are “knocking down our door”, in spite of the recession.
辨识真品最牢靠的方法是将有特殊遗传基因的物质放进包装或产品当中。公司或官员可以真正的用遗传基因来确认一项物品的真伪。虽然这技术比其他反仿冒的方法要贵，但是那些生产非常高价位物品的公司，例如最知名的酒庄，却把这技术当宝。遗传基因应用科学公司(DNA Applied Sciences)的老板黑华德(James Hayward)坚持的说，虽然经济不景气，新的客户却”快把我们的门给敲烂了”。

Online brand-protection services, which track counterfeiters on the web for their clients, are also thriving. OpSec Security, which provides physical and online brand protection, has seen revenues from its online monitoring business grow by more than 20% annually for the past two years, even as revenues for its shipping services declined (because companies are shipping fewer items). MarkMonitor raised the price of its online brand-protection service by 18% last year because demand was so high. America’s biggest firms spend $2m-4m a year to combat counterfeiting on average—a figure that is growing along with internet shopping.
网络品牌保护公司，也就是替客户在网上查缉仿冒的公司，也同样的欣欣向荣。欧普谢保全(OpSec Security)是一家既提供实体也提供网络品牌保护的公司。虽然过去两年他们在实体货运上的营收因为货运量渐少而降低，但是网络监视生意上的营收却有着20%的年成长。由于需求非常高，马可监视(MarkMonitor)在去年将其网络品牌保护的服务费提高了18%。美国最大型的公司平均每一年花费两百万到四百万美元在打击仿冒上，而这个金额是随着网络一起成长。

Governments are also boosting their efforts to crack down on counterfeiting, which deprives them of tax revenue in addition to harming legitimate businesses. Counterfeiting and piracy cost G20 economies E62 billion ($85 billion) a year in lost taxes and higher spending on unemployment benefits, according to a study by Frontier Economics, a consultancy. For every dollar invested in the fight against counterfeiting in America, the government receives $5 in extra tax revenue, estimates the US Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby. In recent years France and Italy, among others, have enacted laws that threaten consumers who buy fake goods with steep fines and even imprisonment.
各国政府也同样的在扩大打击仿冒。仿冒不只伤害合法的商家，也造成政府税收的减少。据一家顾问公司Frontier Economics的研究，G20的国家每年因仿冒和盗版损失的税金和多付的失业救济金约在六百二十亿欧元之谱。美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)估计，美国政府每花一块钱在打击仿冒上，就可以多收五块钱的税金。最近几年，法国、意大利、和其他国家先后制定了法律，对购买仿冒品的消费者处以重罚甚至监禁。

America appointed its first “IP tsar” last autumn and is developing a new enforcement strategy. The European Union has formed an anti-counterfeiting “observatory” to collect better data and disseminate tips on how best to detect fake goods. The EU, America and Japan, among others, are also discussing a new treaty, called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), that would strengthen international controls on counterfeits and piracy. It is expected to be launched later this year.
美国在去年秋天指派了他们第一位的”知识产权总督”，也正在发展一套新的执法策略。欧盟成立了一个反仿冒的”观察小组”来收集资料和宣传侦测假货的技巧。为了加强国际上对仿冒和盗版的控管，欧盟、美国、日本、和其他国家也正在讨论一个名为反仿冒贸易协议(Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA))的国际条约。这条约预计在今年会签订。

But in China, where 80% of the world’s fake goods are thought to be produced, officials are loth to crack down on a thriving local business. China is not expected to sign ACTA—undermining it before it has even been unveiled. Perhaps China could make a just-as-good fake treaty instead.
不过在被认为制造世界上80%假货的中国，官员们却很不情愿打击一个正在茁壮的国内产业。一般预期中国不会签署ACTA，也因而该条约还没生效就开始失去效力了。也许中国可以制造出一个能以假乱真的条约来做替代吧。