Counterfeiting and piracy
Piracy and counterfeiting are similar because both entail unauthorised use of intellectual property rights
Counterfeit products or counterfeits are products marked with other people’s protected trademark without authorisation mostly imitating a genuine product marked with a trademark so that at first sight they give an impression of a genuine product. Placing counterfeits on the market violates the provisions of the Trademarks Act and, in certain cases, the provisions of the Criminal Code (Title 27).Pirated products (colloquially “pirates”) are products with musical (audio) works, cinematographic (audiovisual) or other copyright works recorded on sound and/or image carriers without authorisation of the author and/or related right holder as well as products infringing industrial design. Unauthorised putting to use, downloading and distributing audio and audiovisual works and software on the internet is called internet piracy. Placing pirated products on the market violates the provisions of the Copyright and Related Rights Act and, in certain cases, the provisions of the Criminal Code (Title 27).
How to recognise counterfeits and pirated products on the market
Most illegal activities related to the sale of counterfeits and pirated content today take place via the internet (through announcements in advertisements and on social networks and through offers on special webpages).Special caution is recommended to consumers when buying products through online services (e-commerce). Original products marked with trademarks (colloquially “branded”) will be sold, as a rule, by trademark holders only or their authorised internet distributers or licensees, via their online shops.
To use copyright works via the internet and mobile devices, it is necessary to use legal online services that offer users copyright works from various categories (music, movies, computer games, e-books, etc.), subject to payment of an appropriate monthly fee for authors and other right holders.
In the physical world, a consumer can protect himself from buying a counterfeit (an unauthorised trademarked product) primarily by choosing the place of purchase. Original trademarked products are generally not sold at benches, fairs, markets, etc. Poor workmanship and low price also indicate the possibility of counterfeiting.
The origin of the product is also one of the possible indicators, and it can be determined by inspecting the notice either originally sewn on the product by the manufacturer, or attached to the product as a notice on the product in Croatian, which is mandatory when placing the product on the Croatian market.
Consumers can recognise pirated products as follows:
- the place of purchase of a musical sound carrier or sound and image carrier with recorded films or other audiovisual works, computer games, etc. may indicate that it is a pirated product. If such products are sold at stands, fairs, markets or other occasional sales, there is a possibility that a pirated product is offered for sale.
- low price of the product may be one of the indicators that the originality of the product is questioned, as well as the external appearance of the product (CD or DVD cover is a copy of the original, no discographer or producer is mentioned or other information is missing, which is usually provided with legal publication of the work).
The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, which operates at the European Union Intellectual Property Office, has published a number of studies and research related to the problem of counterfeiting and piracy, accessible here.