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Stop Faking It
Germany's Museum Plagiarius showcases knockoffs. The founders are determined to protect small designers from counterfeiters that stifle innovation
by Rachel Tiplady
Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, warns one of the oldest sayings in the book. That's also the message behind a new museum of counterfeit goods, which opens to the public on Apr. 1. The Museum Plagiarius, in the German city of Solingen near Cologne, will permanently exhibit some 300 original products together with inferior rip-offs produced by unscrupulous companies out for a quick buck.
Its message: Plagiarism kills innovation. "Companies have spent time and money making these products; if someone steals that idea, then they are also stealing the incentive to invent," says the museum's curator, Christine Lacroix, who is also managing director for nonprofit lobby group Aktion Plagiarius, which runs the museum and offers design companies legal advice and regular workshops to help fight against organizations that counterfeit.