- IMITATION is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery, but that is not how most brands see it. The counterfeiting scourge continues to spread- and that’s scaring for multinationals. “It’s no longer a cottage industry,” says Anthony Simon, marketing chief of Uniliver Bestfoods. “We have seen a massive increase, and there’s a risk it will spiral out of control.” The scale of the threat is prompting new efforts by multinationals to stop, or at least curb, the spread of counterfeits. Companies are pressuring governments from Beijing to Brasilia to crack down, and trying everything to thwart the counterfeiters.

2- It’s tales like this that prompt some trade hawks in the U.S., to call for action against China related to counterfeits and intellectual-property rights violation in general. In December, Beijing lowered the threshold for criminal prosecution of counterfeiters. Prior to the changes, an individual needed to have $ 12,000 worth of goods on hand before police could prosecute. It was easy to skirt that rule by spreading the wares around. Today, that threshold stands at $ 6,000 for counterfeiters caught with one brand and $ 3,600 for those with two or more.

3- 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. 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.

4- Factories in China can copy a new model of golf club in less than a week. And counterfeiters are skilled at duplicating holograms, “smart” chips, and other security devices intended to distinguish fakes from the genuine article. “We’ve had a sophisticated technology that took years to develop knocked off in a matter of months,” says Unilever boss Simon.

5- The ambition just keeps growing. In China, recent raids have turned up everything from fake Sony PlayStation game controllers to Cisco Systems router interface cards. “If you can make it, they can fake it,” says David Fernyhough, director of brand protection at investigation firm Hill & Associates Ltd. in Hong Kong.

6- Armed with digital technology, counterfeiters can churn out perfect packaging- a key to duping unwitting distributors and retail customers. GM has come across fake air filters, brake pads, and batteries. “We had to cut them apart or to do chemical analysis to tell they weren’t real,” says Alexander Theil, director of investigation at General Motors Asia Pacific. The parts might last half as long as the real thing, but that’s not apparent until long after the sale.

7- They are also making big bucks. Counterfeiting has become as profitable as trading illegal narcotics, and is a lot less unsafe. In most countries convicted offenders get off with a slap on the wrist and a fine of a few thousand dollars. Counterfeiters, after all, don’t have to cover research and development, marketing, and advertising costs, and most of the expense goes into making goods look convincing, not performing well.

8- While counterfeiters are piling profits up, the multinationals are spending ever more on stopping them. Last September, Nokia started making batteries with holographic images and 20-digit identification codes that can be authenticated online. Other companies simply try to make life as difficult as possible for manufactures and distributors by raiding factories and warehouses or by slightly altering the look of products, making it tough for counterfeiters to keep up with the changes.

9- One big problem: Too many scammers have ties to local officials, who see counterfeit operations as a major source of employment and pillars of the local economy. “Two or three raids have failed because of local protection,” says Joseph Tsang, chairman of Marksman Consultants Ltd. Above and beyond, many acknowledged their biggest challenge is finding the funds to fight counterfeiting, as most governments are more concerned with preventing the smuggling of drugs and arms.

10- Hard as it is, there’s every reason to keep up the fight to stop counterfeiting. One is safety. Novartis says counterfeiters have used yellow highway paint to get the right colour match for fake painkillers. You even have antibiotics without the ingredients. The other reason is, obviously, the hit to corporate profits.

“More alarming, organized crime thrives on counterfeiting,” says Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of Interpol. So does terrorism. This is a fight that will take years to win.

From The

European

A- Answer these questions with reference to the text.

1 What/who essentially thwarts efforts to stop the spread of bogus goods?……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 In your own words, sum up the correlation between counterfeiting and globalization.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Show how counterfeiting is starting to rival and outdo multinationals in both speed and complexity.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 Why according to the writer should a global, full-scale offensive be launched against counterfeiting? Give 3 reasons.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Go over the main four tactics used by multinationals to track and outwit fakers.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Study the reasons why counterfeiters are making big money with the least risks possible.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

B- Say whether these statements are true or false. Justify.

1 Counterfeiting has gone from a local nuisance to a global threat.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 It takes a forensic scientist to distinguish fakes from real things.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3 Getting rid of the problem of counterfeiting is too much to ask.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

4 Alarming still is counterfeiting’s relation to the underworld.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...5 For local authorities, fighting counterfeiters is a top priority.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………C- *Find words in paragraphs 1 through 5 words meaning the same asa) A curse; something that causes a lot of suffering : …………………………………b) To reduce : …………………………………c) A sudden visit by the police searching for something illegal : ………………………..............*Find words in paragraphs 6 through 10 meaning the same asa) Deceiving : ………………………………… b) Validated; confirmed : …………………………………c) The crime of taking things illegally from one country to another : …………………………………

D- What do the underlined words in the text refer to? a- The wares ( § 2) ……………………………………………………………………. b- Two or more ( § 2) ……………………………………………………………………. c- Scammers ( § 9) …………………………………………………………………….

d- Many (§ 9) …………………………