StoryBook Ceramics : We Hate Fakes Too

In 1999, Londoner Peter Lowe wrote an article concerning the difficulties faced by law enforcement in dealing with the problems of counterfeiting. Especially troubling to Mr. Lowe was the issue of consumer apathy, or even sympathy, for the counterfeit artists and a lack of care for the products themselves.
It's been seven years since his article was released. Let's revisit some of his thoughts and explore the questions... "How are we doing?" "Have we made any progress?"


In the global fight against counterfeiting and piracy, law enforcement agencies must first win the battle of public perception.

Despite warning notices, and the public burning of small mountains of fake Rolex watches and other counterfeit products, indulging in the purchase of a few pirate products is still not viewed as a social evil. Normally law-abiding citizens see nothing wrong in acquiring fake designer trainers or sun-glasses while on holiday in Thailand, or in settling down to watch a pirate copy of a recently-released blockbuster. They certainly do not feel the need to exert pressure on their governments to invest resources in combating the crime.

While other forms of illegal trading, such as drug dealing, are viewed with great public concern, few people are aware either of the multiplicity of different activities involved in counterfeiting, or of the damage they cause.

Indeed some people express a sneaking admiration for the skills and sheer nerve of those counterfeiters who have been able to replicate valuable antique furniture, or who have successfully duped the art world into paying vast sums for fake paintings by old masters. For others it is the "Robin Hood" factor that appeals – stealing from the rich to help the poor. Proponents of this argument say it is morally wrong for software companies to charge such large sums for their software and pirates are merely redressing the balance. To some members of the public who feel designer products are vastly over-priced, counterfeits are simply "a rip off of a rip off".

These views are sadly given some credence by the failure of most governments to highlight the negative effects of counterfeiting - the damage done to companies, their products and reputation, the loss of jobs and tax revenue, quite apart from the value and economic importance of intellectual property. Instead light sentences from the courts, and sometimes failure to prosecute at all, send the wrong signals into the public arena.

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In the seven years since this article was published, America has seen the rise of the power of the RIAA, the implementation of the VeRO program on eBay, the development of RFID tracking of goods and medicines, and the spectacle of such "experimental" anti-piracy tactics such as Sony Music and their "rootkit" software protection debacle.

All this points to progress of sorts, but arguably, of the wrong kind. A large percentage of the recent anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy efforts have concentrated on punishing or exposing the end-user with terribly little resources spent on neutralizing the source of the goods.

That, coupled with the reality that we still enjoy the best justice system money can buy means that while mega-companies such as Tiffany's have eBay scrambling to pull auctions in fear over lawsuits for allowing counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on their auction site, smaller, less cash-rich companies must typically fight the fight alone to protect their brand and goods. There are very few resources to help a small company who is targeted by a counterfeiter.

For collectors of all kinds, and specifically pottery lovers, the situation is even more grim. The absence of a working "company" to file a lawsuit or petition for specific assistance, leaves the group fragmented and frustrated over the growing problem of counterfiets, and most law enforcement offices are simply not interested in hearing about this variety of fraud.

One of the most profitable risk-free frauds in the country is the sale of lower end counterfeit pottery. Anectdotally, there seemingly isn't a police force in the country that is willing to follow through on an investigation of the manufacture and distribution of fraudulent pottery.

Even when the specifics of the counterfeiting activity are documented, known and provable it is very difficult to get assistance. We have personally solicited help from federal, county and local law enforcement to stop the counterfeiting activities of one of the best-known fraudsters in pottery who used to live in our town, but we have yet to find an agency or individual willing to take the time or spend the resources to stop him. As we are often told, "We (the LE organization) just don't have the money to spend on investigating fake pottery."

So now, preventing counterfeiting is not so much a question of apathy as of money. People, in general, seem to care more, but law enforcement is willing to spend little in man power or money, except to pursue some categories of endusers, or to develop the highly PR worthy cases involving high profile companies. Of course, ANYTHING involving drugs gets front and center attention.

As collectors, it is impossible to solve this problem alone. We must gather together and through a common concern, form a vocal group that wields real lobbying power. A McCoy faction, and Shawnee faction, and stamp collector faction hurts the cause. We need a COLLECTOR faction that addresses the problem of counterfeit collectibles holisticaly.

Hopefully, a group such as I've described will take shape in time to salvage the value of our collectibles and the fun of the hobby of collecting before it is diluted irreparably.