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The negative prize "Plagiarius" is awarded annually. The trophy is a black dwarf with a golden nose. © Action Plagiarius

Product and brand piracy has long been a global business worth billions. It ranges from simple imitators to professionally organized networks and brings large quantities of untested, falsely declared and non-EU-compliant goods onto the European market. This harms fair competition and harbors risks for consumers. Business and trade associations are therefore calling for more consistent enforcement of existing laws, more responsibility for platform operators and better equipped customs and market surveillance authorities. Education remains just as important: no business without demand.

Bottle set for newborns "Philips Avent Natural Response" © Action Plagiarius

Avent (original) vs. Aveat (counterfeit). Safety comes first, especially when it comes to products for newborns. Philips Avent bottles are made of BPA-free plastic and are odorless and tasteless, suitable for the transition between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. The misleading Aveat counterfeits were manufactured in China and distributed online, via social media and locally in Latin America, Nigeria and South East Asia. According to the packaging, they are also BPA-free. The extremely low price - a fifth of the original - and photos from the counterfeiters' "factories" cast doubt on the quality and suitability of the plastic, especially for baby products. Hygienic conditions? More than questionable! Quality and safety controls? Not a thing! Following a raid and seizure at Onibebi, a court ordered the company to cease and desist and pay compensation. Philips consistently holds counterfeiters accountable.

2nd prize: "AXOR MyEdition" basin mixer
Left Original: Hansgrohe SE, Schiltach, Germany
Right Counterfeit: Chinese counterfeiting network - 3 people in custody, Kaiping / Guangdong, PR China
Distribution via various online stores, including taobao.com

Axor MyEdition" basin mixer © Action Plagiarius

After months of research and in cooperation with the local Kaiping PSB Public Security Bureau, Hansgrohe was able to dismantle a large Chinese counterfeiting network in a raid. In addition to the designs protected by Hansgrohe, it was primarily the internationally renowned "hansgrohe" and "Axor" brands, which are also registered in China, that were copied. The counterfeits were advertised online, including on taobao.com, with original photos and offered at ridiculously low prices. The materials and workmanship of the counterfeits are correspondingly inferior. A major success: three of the network's main leaders were arrested and are currently being prosecuted.

3rd prize: Classic Stacking Lounger (Design: Rolf Heide, 1966)
Top Original: Müller Möbelwerkstätten GmbH, Bockhorn, Germany
(Exclusive worldwide rights for the manufacture, distribution and marketing of the stacking lounger)
Bottom Plagiarism: Distribution: La Redoute S.A.S., Roubaix, France

Classic stacking lounger (Design: Rolf Heide, 1966) © Action Plagiarius

The stacking lounger is a design classic by Rolf Heide from 1966 with a timeless design and high flexibility. It is intelligently constructed and easy to assemble and disassemble. Whether as a sofa, a stacked children's bed, a double bed or a flexible guest bed, it is a space-saving all-rounder. Müller Möbelwerkstätten has the exclusive worldwide right to manufacture and distribute them. The cheap counterfeit from La Redoute, including the "slatted frame", which consists of simple boards that are too far apart, costs a fifth of the original frame. Customers dismiss the counterfeit as "cheaply made, poorly finished and unstable". The overall aesthetic impression of both stacking beds is identical: all the defining formal and functional design features of the original were adopted in the plagiarized version, in particular the sweeping curves of the side panels, which enable the stacking capability. All the more shocking is the inadequate accuracy of fit of the plagiarism.

Special prize "Plagiarism Tsunami": "Klikk" and "Klikk Pocket" cutlery sets
Front originals: koziol "ideas for friends GmbH, Erbach, Germany
Plagiarism (in wave): Distribution: Via alibaba.com
Operator: Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited, Singapore
Supplier: Countless Chinese manufacturers and retailers

Klikk" and "Klikk Pocket" cutlery sets © Action Plagiarius

Like a tsunami wave, cheap imitations are flooding the successful Koziol "Klikk" and "Klikk Pocket" cutlery sets. The original cutlery sets are compact, robust and manufactured by Koziol in Erbach/Odenwald. The material is dishwasher-safe, food-safe and 100% recyclable. The cutlery has been copied countless times since its market launch and countless imitators and online retailers have been warned. The platform operator Alibaba.com is particularly intransigent: after pointing out the EU-wide design protection, infringing offers are removed, but they are not actively and automatically prevented by AI. Despite Koziol's weekly "notice-and-take-down" of countless counterfeit products, retailers are allowed to post the same counterfeit products with the same advertising texts and photos again and again without any problems. This shows Alibaba's lack of interest and unwillingness to take preventive action. The unstable cheap imitations are 80 to 95% below the original price. Whether they comply with European regulations in terms of materials and safety is more than questionable.

Special price "Fake store": Website www.germens.shop
Links original store: Germens artfashion Markeking GmbH, Chemnitz, Germany
Right Fake store: www.jeffkelleher.shop / www.noemibishop.shop
Operator: Unidentifiable - stores deleted after months of operation

Website www.germens.shop © Action Plagiarius

A "fake store" is a completely fake online store. The operators lure consumers with cheap offers, collect money but do not deliver any goods. Consumers are increasingly falling victim to this scam. The stores are professionally designed and look deceptively genuine. Most recently affected: The Germens store. Germens shirts stand for high-quality fabrics and unusual designs created by artists. From July to November 2025, two fake stores posed as "Germens". The logo, texts and product photos were copied. The products were offered at dumping prices below the manufacturing prices. There was no legal notice and the withdrawal conditions were illegal. Typical: There is often a choice of payment methods, but at the end of the order only payment in advance is possible. Quality seals must be linked to the seal operator. Consumers can check suspicious stores at "verbraucherzentrale.de/fakeshopfinder" and there are tips for recognizing fake stores.

Award: (Light) switch range "Busch-balance SI"
Above originals: ABB AG - Busch-Jaeger, Lüdenscheid, Germany
Below Plagiarism: Handelshaus Klein GmbH, Trostberg, Germany

(Light) switch range "Busch-balance SI" © Action Plagiarius

The "borrowing" from the Busch-Jaeger original is clearly intentional. Not only the design and technical details of the "Busch-balance SI" series are almost identical. The imitation is also advertised as "The BBwhite switch range, suitable for Busch-Jaeger Balance Si [sic] in white RAL9010, offers a cost-effective option". Busch-Jaeger is taking legal action against this. In addition, Handelshaus Klein emphasizes in the description of its imitation that "the convex surface enables unique design accents". In fact, at least the well-known original manufacturers all have their own unique design.

Award: Replacement razor blades "Philips OneBlade"
Left Original: Koninklijke Philips N.V., Eindhoven, Netherlands
Right counterfeit: KionCare, Zhejiang, PR China
Distribution: worldwide, e.g. via Temu

Replacement razor blades "Philips OneBlade" © Action Plagiarius

Just like toothbrush attachments or printer cartridges, replacement razor blades have to be bought every few weeks. They always feel too expensive. This puts such products in the sights of counterfeiters: in 2024, over 900,000 counterfeit razor blades were seized in the EU alone that did not meet EU safety standards and therefore posed a risk of injury. The customer reviews of KionCare counterfeits are also devastating: "Unusable, blunt, cause skin irritation, tear hair, incompatible". The suppliers of such counterfeits often have neither an imprint nor information on withdrawal conditions etc. Philips protects all its products with registered trademarks, designs and patents, regularly carries out on-site raids and holds (online) counterfeiters to account worldwide.

Award: "Cheers" champagne glasses (with print)
Above originals: koziol "ideas for friends GmbH, Erbach, Germany
Bottom Plagiarism: Distribution: Norma Lebensmittelfilialbetrieb Stiftung & Co KG, Nuremberg, Germany
Production: Spain

Cheers" champagne glasses (with print) © Action Plagiarius

Broken glass does not always bring good luck. The "Cheers" champagne glasses from Koziol made of thermoplastic are durable and virtually unbreakable, 100% recyclable and the material insulates four times better than glass. This also convinced Norma in 2021. These five printed Koziol champagne glasses were successfully sold for weeks. A new offer in 2023 was rejected because "the price wasn't right". There was no response to an offer in 2025. But a surprise: from December 8, 2025, Norma instead had the five visually very similar imitations from Spain with exactly the same slogans on offer - for less than a third of the original price: €3.99 for two champagne glasses instead of €6.95 for one champagne glass. But now unstable and not recyclable.

Award: Pastry former "F450"
Left Original: Niederrheinische Formenfabrik Janssen GmbH, Krefeld, Germany
Right Plagiarism: TMAK Gida Makineleri A.S., Istanbul, Turkey

Pastry former "F450" © Action Plagiarius

Brazen theft of technology and design, the latter moderately concealed by a sheet metal cladding. The multi-award-winning F450 cookie former consists of numerous individual technical components whose functions, structure and geometry were individually developed by Janssen and protected by design rights and patents. The Turkish manufacturer TMAK has copied more than 25 of these individual technical components in an identical design. And although the counterfeit is still more expensive than the original despite a 24.61% discount, it showed serious deficits and functional failures during a live presentation at iba 2025 (international bakery exhibition).

Award: Thermochromic rollerball pen "Pilot FriXion Ball" (with erasable ink)
Left Original: Pilot Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
Right counterfeit: Distributed by: Alix Industrial Co, Ltd, Shanghai, PR China

Thermochromic rollerball pen "Pilot FriXion Ball" (with erasable ink) © Action Plagiarius

The "Pilot FriXion" pens are the original when it comes to erasable rollerball pens, fineliners and highlighters. The FriXion series was developed by the Japanese writing instrument manufacturer Pilot Corporation. The pens, which are available in many colors, use unique thermosensitive ink that changes with temperature. Each FriXion pen has an eraser ball that generates heat through friction so that the ink becomes transparent and mistakes can be erased. The best-selling series is protected worldwide by registered trademarks (FriXion), designs and patents. Alix is a repeat offender. In 2020, pens infringing Pilot designs were confiscated at trade fairs. In the current case, not only the design but also the word/figurative mark "FriXion" was copied. Alix presents itself as an authorized dealer. The cheaply made counterfeit was confiscated at the "Ambiente 2025" trade fair.