Piracy's Pestering Popularity

An exhibition in Brussels features a beautiful 1967 Ferrari P4 of which only three were ever made. Everything about it looks authentic, but open the hood and you'll find a Subaru engine installed in it. This car is a counterfeit vehicle made in Thailand, one of countless items of pirated goods that now flood the global market, and are brazenly sold in commercial quantities in urban and suburban outlets. Years ago, such items were sold clandestinely in secret locations accessed only by word of mouth. Today, these are competing and succeeding against their original progenitor.

All sorts of items are cloned and none are spared, from electronics, garments, DVD's, wines and liquors, cigarettes, wrist watches and anything branded that is widely patronized by consumers. The most dangerous of these are the fake medicines and food that could put the consumers health and life at risk. Decades ago, fakes were limited to art work, jewelry of historical significance, which were sold to private collectors hoodwinked into the purchase for a fortune. These collectors could not openly complain since it would open their reputations to ridicule. Plagiarism is also a form of piracy, as with fake biographies of famous or infamous people that were painstakingly pieced with old paper and ink. Counterfeit currency is also a favorite among the underworld's talented artists.

There are those who are totally unaware that they are buying fake products. However, there are many who patronize such clones for varied reasons. One, the original creator is overpricing its products making volumes of profit, patronizing the clone is a way of getting even. Two, the budget hunter who feels he has won over those who bought the more pricey original where he has obtained his item at a much lower price. Three, those who don't care about violating the law as long as their need is satisfied. Four, those who want to project a status but do not have sufficient funds to sustain it. The worse part is that these patrons lead themselves to believe that the clones are as good as the original. Those who warn the public of the proliferation of fakes eventually see their sales decline, because buyers of original items are afraid that the product they used to buy could be counterfeit.

The popularity of pirated goods is largely due to price. Consumers who patronize clones question the value of the genuine items, and wonder why the fakes can be bought at less than half the price for almost equal quality and craftsmanship. Most consumers would not be able to comprehend the costs of research, development, testing, quality control, branding, marketing, and warranties. To them, it's the function, the comfort, and the price. Manufacturers and designers have tremendous tasks ahead in terms of educating the global market's perceptions regarding the concepts of corporate accountability and responsibility.

Meanwhile, billions of dollars are lost to pirates every day, putting jobs at risk and people's careers in jeopardy. In the future, it may be wise for global manufacturers and marketers to clone their own products, in order to beat the counterfeiters at their own game. That would level the playing field. In the end however, it's not really what brand is worn or used and whether it's an original or a fake, but how the user looks in it. For many, genuine or clone, they force its use on themselves even if they look so utterly disgusting and ridiculous.

Haaarrrrwwwwk... Twoooooph...Ting!