PONAREDKI KOT ENA NAJPOGOSTEJŠIH KRŠITEV BLAGOVNIH IN STORITVENIH ZNAMK - Klasinc, Robert ([R. Klasinc], 2015)
Ponarejanje predstavlja enega izmed večjih globalnih problemov. V dobi interneta se zdi, da so razsežnosti trga ponaredkov iz dneva v dan večje, ponarejevalcem pa se ponuja enostavna možnost distribucije ponarejenih izdelkov po celotnem tržišču. Razpon ponarejenih izdelkov je zelo širok in trendi kažejo, da se ponarejevalci ne omejujejo le na luksuzno blago, temveč vedno več izkoriščajo potrošniške dobrine, vključno z vsakdanjimi stvarmi, kot so otroška hrana, kozmetika, zdravila, rezervni deli za avtomobilsko in tudi letalsko industrijo. To predstavlja resno grožnjo za javno zdravje in varnost, saj ti ponarejeni proizvodi niso predmet varnostnih pregledov. Del krivde je tudi na račun potrošnikov, ki se ne zavedajo oziroma se ne želijo zavedati, da gre tako pri proizvodnji kot pri prodaji ponarejenih izdelkov za obliko organiziranega kriminala. Tako s proizvodnjo kot tudi z nakupom kršimo temeljne pravice intelektualne lastnine. Odgovorne službe, ki ščitijo pravice imetnikov blagovnih in storitvenih znamk, so velikokrat nemočne zaradi enormnih razsežnosti trga ponaredkov. Glavni vir ponaredkov predstavljajo predvsem države Vzhodne in Jugovzhodne Azije, med katerimi prednjači Kitajska. Vendar pa je treba poudariti, da zaradi enormnih dobičkov, ki se ustvarijo pri reprodukciji ponarejenih proizvodov, praktično nobena celina kot tudi ne država ni imuna na ponarejevalce. Veliko lahko naredijo podjetja sama s tem, ko zaščitijo svojo blagovno oziroma storitveno znamko. Na voljo imajo zaščito na treh ravneh, in sicer na nacionalni, evropski in mednarodni ravni. Izbira zaščite je odvisna od trga, na katerem posluje podjetje. Za večja podjetja, ki presežejo meje domačega tržišča, je vsekakor smiselno, da znamko registrirajo na evropski oziroma na mednarodni ravni. V raziskovalnem delu smo predstavili, kakšno vrednost predstavljajo tako blagovne kot tudi storitvene znamke njihovim lastnikom oziroma podjetjem. Prav tržna vrednost, ki jo določene znamke dosegajo na trgu, in svetovna razpoznavnost so med glavnimi dejavniki, zaradi katerih so priznane znamke velikokrat deležne ponarejanja. Posledice za podjetja so predvsem zmanjšanje vrednosti izdelkov in upad prihodkov, kar posledično pripelje do manjšega vlaganja v razvoj in investicije. Poudariti je treba, da ponarejanje ne prizadene samo podjetij, temveč celotno družbo. Veliko podjetij je primoranih odpuščati zaradi upada prodaje, kar lahko vodi do resnih socialnih posledic. Prav tako lahko uporaba ponarejenih proizvodov zaradi slabše kakovosti uporabljenih materialov resno ogrozi zdravje potrošnikov. Vse to so problemi, na katere večina potrošnikov ni pozorna, saj jih premami nizka cena. Veliko bolj kot sami potrošniki se problema zavedajo države, ki so zaradi nelegalne trgovine s ponarejenim blagom prikrajšane za davke. Na območju Evropske unije potekajo na vstopnih točkah, kot so pristanišča in letališča, različne akcije s strani carinskih organov, da bi preprečile vstop ponarejenemu blagu na trg. Kljub uspešnosti teh akcij, kar je razvidno iz poročil glede zaseženih količin ponarejenih proizvodov, se število ponarejenih izdelkov na trgih Evropske unije iz leta v leto povečuje, kar nakazuje na nemoč pristojnih organov v boju s ponaredki kot obliko organiziranega kriminala. Counterfeiting represents one of the major global problems. It seems that in the internet age the dimension of the counterfeiting market is increasing day by day and counterfeiters are given the simple option of distributing counterfeit products throughout the market. Range of the counterfeit products is very wide and the trends show that the counterfeiters are not limited only on the luxurious merchandise but are more and more exploiting consumers’ goods, including everyday things such as baby food, cosmetics, and medicines, as well as spare parts for car and plane industry. This represents serious threat for public health and security, since these products are not the subject to security check. Consumers who are not aware or do not wish to be aware, that the production as well as the sale of the counterfeit products is a form of organized crime, are partly to blame. With production as well as with purchase, the fundamental rights of intellectual property are violated. Responsible services, which are protecting the rights of holders of the trademarks and service brands, are often powerless due to enormous expand of the counterfeiting market. Main source of the counterfeit products are mostly countries of East and Southeast Asia, at the forefront China. However it is necessary to emphasize, that because of the enormous profits gained with the reproduction of counterfeit products, none of the continents as none of the countries is immune to counterfeiters. Companies can do a lot themselves by protecting their trademark or service brand. They can protect them on three levels namely on national, European and international level. Choice of the protection depends of the market where the company operates. For bigger companies which are exceeding the borders of the domestic market it is in any case reasonable to register their brand on European or international level. In the research part we presented what kind of value the trademarks and service brands represent to their owners or companies. The market value that certain brands achieve in the market and recognition of the brand in the world, are one of the main factors why the renowned brands are often the subject of counterfeiting. Consequences for the companies are mostly reduction of the value of products and decrease of the income, which consequently leads to lesser input in development and investment. It needs to be emphasized that the counterfeiting does not affect only the companies but the whole society. Due to declining sales the companies are compelled to lay off workers, which can lead to serious social consequences. Also the usage of the counterfeit products can, because of lower quality of the materials used, seriously jeopardize health of the consumers. These are all problems the majority do not pay attention because they are tempted by the lower price. Countries are much more aware of the problems than the consumers, as the countries are deprived of the taxes, due to illegal store with counterfeit merchandise. In the area of the European Union the several different actions are taking place at the entering points such as ports and airports, where the customs duty organs prevent the forge products to enter the market. Despite the success of these actions, which is evident from the reports of quantity of seized counterfeit products, the number of counterfeit products in the European Union market is increasing yearly, which indicates powerlessness of competent authority in the battle with counterfeits as a form of organized crime.