According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the International Confederation of Consumer Organizations (KonfOP), the number of counterfeited products in Russia is growing.

The survey conducted of Moscow consumers has demonstrated that about 75 percent of respondents had bought counterfeits of one or more products in the past two years. Last year 93 percent of buyers encountered counterfeit products, of which one fourth knowingly purchased fakes. The survey also revealed that consumers treat only counterfeit pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages and food extremely negatively. Their loyalty toward other counterfeit products is explained by the relatively low prices of pirated goods.

Counterfeits in Supermarkets, Drugstores and Boutiques

About 10 percent of Russians do not care about the counterfeiting problem at all; the rest population is irritated by fakes, and only 58 percent of consumers have an extremely negative attitude towards counterfeiting.

"The majority of the respondents think that counterfeit medicines, food and drinks are absolutely unacceptable," Peter B. Necarsulmer, President of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), explained to Gazeta. As expected most Muscovites bought counterfeit products at open markets, kiosks and street vendors (48.8 percent). In these places, pirated CDs and the clothes of "well-known" producers were sold at very low prices.

At the same time, counterfeits are also sold in trading outlets to which consumers give absolute credence. Twenty-two point three percent of the respondents had purchased fakes in traditional small shops, 3.7 percent in supermarkets and hypermarkets, and 2.8 percent in self-service stores and department stores. Approximately 1.6 percent of consumers bought counterfeit products in specialized company shops.

Thirty percent of consumers purchased counterfeit medicines in drugstores and kiosks selling medicines, which are subject to mandatory state licensing. The most popular medicines - Noshpa, Aspirin and Analgin - were certainly the most frequently counterfeited.

Every second consumer in Moscow (54 percent of respondents) would like to receive information about the true origin of medicines to be sure that they are effective and safe. And one out of five respondents is ready to pay 30 percent more in order to have confidence that the medicines they buy are legitimate.

Counterfeit alcoholic beverages (whisky and Kristall vodka) may be seen in Moscow supermarkets (Pyatyorochka, Kopeika, Ramstor, Sedmoy Kontinent, Perekryostok and Petrovsky), making up some 3.7 percent of the total strong drinks. Counterfeiters also produce Nescafe coffee and Borjomi, and also Marlboro, LM and Winston cigarettes.

The same stores you may come across counterfeits of the detergents Ariel and Fairy.

Faked Adidas

Among industrial products, counterfeits as a rule occupy a "sports" niche. Fifty three percent of the respondents were able to independently name the specific counterfeited brands they came across most often in the stores and markets where they shop. The Adidas, Nike and Reebok trademarks were the most frequently mentioned. At the same time, consumers are rather lenient regarding counterfeited clothing and sportswear: 22 percent of respondents thought that counterfeiting these items was ''absolutely acceptable'' and is compensated for by lower prices.

Pirated Music

Some 27 percent of consumers consider it normal to buy audio or video recordings and computer software stolen from the legal rights holders. Moreover, 77 percent of the respondents agreed strongly with the statement, "Consumers will never buy legitimate consumer software, CDs or DVDs as long counterfeit versions are available at lower prices."

Three-quarters of the respondents said they were unaware that they were purchasing counterfeit products. Twenty-five percent of the respondents knowingly sought out fake products to buy, justifying it with their low income (57.7 percent) and the high prices set by true producers (40.8 percent).

If a special hotline were available, 61.6 percent of citizens would call with information about counterfeit products purchased.

Without Penalties

However, other survey findings proved that consumers hold very different opinions both about the perceived risk and the appropriate punishments for fakes that threaten consumers' health, and those that do not. Sixty-three percent of respondents agreed that for certain categories of counterfeits ''…punishments should be much more serious, and for other products should be weaker or should not exist at all.''

At the same time, 68 percent of the respondents did not agree that consumers who knowingly purchase fakes should be punished. "These are double standards," Peter Necarsulmer of CIPR told Gazeta.

Western experts drew an unfavorable conclusion: Russian counterfeiters are guaranteed to succeed because Russians are not prepared to refuse cheap fakes.

Note

The opinion poll was conducted by the Interactive Research Group (IRG) and The PBN Company for CIPR, the International Confederation of Consumer Organizations (KonfOP), the Union of Consumers of Russia, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) among 1200 respondents in Moscow in late 2002.