The jury met on March 05 + 06, 2021 - corona-conform in individual sessions and in a virtual final
evaluation - and awarded three main prizes and seven peer awards.

Photos: left: original  /  right: plagiarism / counterfeit
Exception 1. Prize: above original / below counterfeit

Above Original: ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, Waiblingen, Germany
Below Counterfeit: Hangzhou Guley Garden Machinery Co., Ltd., PR China
The counterfeit infringes the word-trademark "STIHL" (here: STHIL), as well as the color trademark (orange / light gray), registered and protected in over 100 countries. Guley is one of the TOP3 counterfeiters of STIHL products in China with clients mainly in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. STIHL has won 8 lawsuits against Guley and received a total of €170,000 as damages. Mostly, counterfeit chainsaws meet neither legal requirements nor safety-relevant parameters (emission levels, chain braking times, material strengths, etc.). STIHL consistently holds imitators from all over the world accountable, also in order to protect users from injury / health risks.

Left Original: MANOTEC Industrial Automation, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Right Plagiarism: Manufacture: PR China
Distribution: Czech vendor on eBay and Amazon
This cheap plagiarism in no way complies with the legal requirements for electrical and pressure equipment: dangerous wiring, impurities, a pressure regulator not suitable for brake fluid. The device leaks, so that electrical lines are washed out - a blind plug prevents the compensation of negative pressure. The labeling is incorrect: "Aump" instead of "Amp" for Ampère. The imitator has taken an original MANOTEC photo and merely retouched some of its control buttons. Due to the registered design rights, MANOTEC regularly has infringing online offers deleted.

Left Original: Prostoria d.o.o., Sv. Kriz Zacretje, Croatia
Right Plagiarism: Oxygen Corp. Limited, London, Great Britain
Distribution via: privatefloor.com  /  myfaktory.com
Prostoria has registered design protection in many countries for its award-winning "Up-Lift" product line. The imitator copies the design, function and product name 1:1, so there is a risk of confusion. Oxygen sells imitations of various renowned manufacturers online: "Our products are made to the same standards as the originals, but we sell them at up to 90% off...We make high-quality reproductions. Great design for all available". In fact, materials and workmanship are extremely cheap. The substandard plagiarisms not only harm the original manufacturers, but also the consumer.

Seven “Distinctions“ (equal in rank) were awarded:

Left Original: engelbert strauss GmbH & Co. KG, Biebergemünd, Germany
Right Plagiarism: ALDI SÜD Dienstleistungs-GmbH & Co. oHG, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
Design, concept and material mix of the functional jacket were adopted almost 1:1: An elastic melange knit on the sleeves and sides for mobility - padded, warming quilted zones on the hood and in the torso area - the striking left chest pocket made of knit with vertical zipper etc. The original has (unregistered) EU-wide design protection. ALDI SÜD sees no design infringement, but wanted to talk to engelbert strauss (not happened to date). The low price is reflected in the quality.

Left Original: Niederrheinische Formenfabrik Janssen GmbH, Krefeld, Germany
Right Plagiarism: Handymach, Trabzon, Turkey
The FormFix 105 - designed by Walter Janssen in the mid 20th century - is the smallest cookie former from the NFF Janssen family manufactory, founded in 1872, and is ideal for small bakeries and pastry shops. Since October 2020, the cookie former has been crudely copied 1:1 by the Turkish company Handymach: Design, construction, function, recipes (accurate to the gram), roller motifs and even parts of the choreography of the video. Handymach does not respond to contact requests from Germany and does not deliver any orders.

Left Original: Prostoria d.o.o., Sv. Kriz Zacretje, Croatia
Right Plagiarism: M-Edition, London, Great Britain
Prostoria has registered design protection in many countries for the award-winning product line "Polygon" (=multi-corner). The imitator copied the design and product name and distributed the plagia-rism via website and social media. His business principle: "We strive to perfectly reproduce iconic designs, manufacture them to the same standards as the originals, and make them affordable for everyone." The cheap materials, poor workmanship (glued, mismatched screws) and lack of comfort disprove this. After warning, a cease and desist letter was signed and the sale of Polygon was stopped.

Left Original: Rotho Kunststoff AG, Wuerenlingen, Switzerland
Right Plagiarism: TUFFEX / Topcu Plastik San. ve Dis. Tic Ltd. Sti, Istanbul, Turkey
Distribution: Polish online-vendor
Form, function and individual design details were adopted 1:1 - the overall impression is identical. However, the plastic is cheaper and the folding points break easily. The Polish vendor has taken the plagiarisms off the market and now sells the Rotho original. TUFFEX has claimed that the sale has been stopped, but the plagiarism is still offered on their website.

Left Originals: RUKO GmbH Präzisionswerkzeuge, Holzgerlingen, Germany
Right Plagiarisms: Karnasch Professional Tools GmbH, Heddesheim, Germany
The imitator has adopted 1:1 all innovative product features and individual design details of the step drill ULTIMATECUT newly developed by RUKO, without any technical constraints: the number of drilling steps, diameter and height of the individual steps, the cutting geometry, center point as well as the radii at the step transitions. RUKO has applied for a patent for the ULTIMATECUT step drills, the granting process is still ongoing. Karnasch disputes the novelty and argues that the "prior art" is freely usable and is not willing to sign a cease-and-desist letter.

Left Originals: Tannen-Paradies GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Right Plagiarisms: Distribution: Gerrit Brinkman Bloemen- en Plantenhandel V.O.F., Wenum Wiesel, The Netherlands
Since 2012, the imitator had purchased the original Easyfix Christmas tree stands via the Dutch exclusive partner of Tannen-Paradies and distributed them in the Netherlands. Since 2019, he sells his visually and in colour confusingly similar plagiarisms, and promotes them not only in the Netherlands but also at trade fairs in several European countries. The plagiarisms are less stable and the plastic is not made of recycled plastic, as is customary with Tannen-Paradies and also demanded by the trade. The imitator argues that the design is not 'protectable' and denies slavish imitation.

Left Originals: Wagner System GmbH, Lahr, Germany
Right Plagiarisms: WALTECO s.r.o., Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic
The design of the doorstop series is adopted 1:1, the overall impression of the 3 originals and the 3 plagiarisms is identical. Visible screws on the imitations and minimal differences on the bottomside of the doorstops do not change anything. Walteco has not signed the required cease-and-desist declaration. A lawsuit by Wagner System GmbH against WALTECO s.r.o. is currently pending.

Aktion Plagiarius e.V.
Sofa Bed & Easy Chair: © Prostoria d.o.o.
Cookie Former Original: © Niederrheinische Formenfabrik Janssen GmbH
Cookie Former Plagiarism: © Website Handymach

Each year the jury is put together individually with specialists from diverse industries. The following persons formed this years' jury: