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Counterfeiting and piracy harm society in many ways that are not easily understood. For example, counterfeit products are rarely made to the same standard as genuine goods and therefore not likely to last as long, may break or be worth even less than the 'discounted' price paid. There is also no after sales service, guarantee or possibility of refund with counterfeit and pirated products.
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This page is a special summary of cases that reveal where counterfeiting and piracy has produced items of poor product quality. Each reference has been extracted directly from a story archived in the BASCAP Case Study Database. For further research, the full article can be found by clicking on the associated endnote.
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Fake olive oil found - Italy, 1 May 2008
- Seizing 25,000 litres of the fake oil, police said the gang was adding flavouring and colourants to vegetable oil and slapping false labels onto bottles that claimed the contents were extra-virgin olive oil; 772
Counterfeit drinking water seized in India - India, 16 April 2008
- The consumer became suspicious when he found a dead mosquito inside the bottle of water had just purchased; 777
Scottish smokers warned over ‘bargain’ cigarettes - UK, 8 March 2008
- Scottish smokers have been advised to resist the temptation to buy cheaper cigarettes amid fears of what they may actually contain; 768
Perilous Pesticides - 1 February 2008
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In February last year, a counterfeit herbicide used in Italy was found to contain quantities of a potentially dangerous insecticide. In 2004, hundreds of hectares of wheat were wiped out in France, Italy and Spain because of a fake herbicide; 752
Drinkers warned about fake vodka - UK, 22 January 2008
- Drinkers in Buckinghamshire have been told to be wary of buying cheap bottles of Glen’s vodka after counterfeit 70cl bottles were found on sale; 749
Canadian man jailed for supplying school with unsafe lighting - Canada, 19 December 2007
- Soon after they were installed the lights began blowing out and showering the students with broken glass; 744
Chinese counterfeiters target online retailers – USA, 3 December 2007
- Experts at PING tested a selection of counterfeit golf clubs at their own driving ranges. They saw many incidences of shafts splitting, heads flying off and uncontrollable shots; 736
Fake gold sold on city streets – UK, 1 November 2007
- The jewellery, which is marked “18K”, is typically offered to prospective buyers for between £25 and £75, but the apparent bargain is a complete rip-off, because tests have revealed the jewellery is actually just common metal with gold colouring.; 668
East Londoners warned about counterfeit condoms – UK, 22 October 2007
- Couples in East London have been warned after fake Durex condoms were discovered during raids on shops and newsagents in Hackney; 732
Counterfeit Nokia batteries - India, 5 September 2007
- Nokia revealed that up to 75% of replacement batteries sold were counterfeit coupled with reports of consumer injuries after counterfeit batteries exploded whilst charging; 717
Fake lighters pose danger to users - UK, 15 August 2007
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The mechanism that controls the flame does not work and could send a ball of flaming gas into user’s faces; 711
Fake air conditioner alert - Vietnam , 1 August 2007
- The fakes cost only one third of the price of genuine air conditioners but many perform poorly or stop working within a month of purchase; 690
Counterfeit electrical goods are shocking – USA, 13 June 2007
- Fake electrical products found on the market so far range from circuit breakers, power strips, extension cords and batteries; 661
Treating patients with fake plasma – China, 12 June 2007
- In the latest counterfeiting scandal to hit China, state television has reported that eighteen hospitals in north eastern China have been using fake human albumin, or plasma protein, to treat patients; 702
Fake black caviar found in Russia – Russia, 29 May 2007
- Counterfeit caviar has been discovered by the Russian Agricultural Regulatory Agency during an unscheduled inspection of a supermarket in Krasnoyarsk Rabochy Prospect; 697
Cans contained cat and rat – Philippines, 1 April 2007
- The counterfeit canned goods, which were believed to contain rat and cat meats; 653
Fake bulgarian Kalashnikov warning – Bulgaria, 1 June 2006
- Experts say the Bulgarian-made Kalashnikov rifles fall far behind the authentic rifles in terms of sustained rate of fire, durability of the barrel and safety; 22.
Beware jewellery bought online – UK, 1 January 2005
- In one case, a diamond ring bought for £995 – half the price for a stone of its weight and size – was found to contain a cracked and pitted diamond that was part filled with glass to cover the faults and worth less than £100; 65.
97% of erectile dysfunction drugs are fake or substandard - 1 November 2005
- Men the world over have been warned that 97% of erectile dysfunction drugs tested (400 samples) by the Dutch National Health Institute in the past four years have been found to be fake or substandard; 92.
Chinese truffles being passed off as their more expensive French counterparts – France, 1 May 2005
- unscrupulous operators have been passing off an inferior Chinese version as the genuine French delicacy. The Chinese grown fungi can be bought for around €30 per kilogram; 152.
Warning over counterfeit batteries for digital cameras– Japan, 1 April 2005
- In many cases, the counterfeit batteries are of inferior quality, without the required protective mechanisms and control circuits; 167.
Counterfeit Proclear Compatibles contact lenses – USA, 1 November 2004
- The customers complained to contact lens company CooperVision about the quality of the contact lenses they had bought. One of the customers returned the lenses to CooperVision, which were tested and found to be counterfeit; 215.
- In both cases the counterfeits came to light when opticians returned the contact lenses to have the dioptric strength changed, following complaints from customers; 267.
Counterfeit Hair Dye Found on Sale in Ghaziabad, India – India, 1 October 2003
- The ingredients of the counterfeits are raw henna powder and an inadequate amount of para-phenylene. As well as being ineffective, the counterfeit dye can also cause skin irritations; 275.
Brochure aims at curbing counterfeit cigars in Cuba – Cuba, 1 August 2002
- Consumers are also being warned that the counterfeit cigars are not only being made from stolen raw material but may also contain poor quality tobacco, that could be particularly harmful to their health; 296.
Alert over counterfeit Gillette razor blades in Philippines – Taiwan, 1 July 2002
- Consumers are being warned to avoid buying counterfeit Gillette Rubie razor blades. The counterfeit blades use low-quality stainless steel that breaks or chips easily and could cause injuries; 304.
Farm diesel engines counterfeited in Thailand – Thailand, 1 March 2002
- SKI said its reputation was being tarnished by the poor quality of the copies which performed badly and had a short operating life; 320.
Hello Kitty fans turn in counterfeiters in Singapore – Singapore, 1 August 2001
- The quality of the fakes is poor, though, with dull colours and designs that are not as clear and distinct as the genuine items; 332.
Fake pate seized in France – Turkey, 1 February 1989
- Tipped off by consumer complaints, food inspectors found tins labelled “liver pate” contained fat, various meats, feathers and toxic substances; 401.
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