Commercial piracy and the protection of ideas : a counterfeit economy in the design and creative sectors of industry

Counterfeit imitations are rapidly growing. Counterfeiting affects all sorts of goods, irrespective of whether they are luxury goods or car spare parts. It is carried out by a variety of people ranging from the teenager video game fan to the Mafia criminal. In order to understand this phenomenon better and to protect oneself against it, Pierre-Jean Benghozi and Walter Santagata suggest making a distinction between 'illegal' counterfeiting and 'criminal' counterfeiting. In order to fight against piracy, they suggest implementing public policies of financial aid for innovations and encouraging illegal companies to become legal. In the meantime, companies which are victim to this practice are invited to develop offensive strategies in the face of counterfeiters or pirates, rather than keeping within the law.