A．The consumerB．The counterfeiterC．The governmentD．The ……
We have all heard of counterfeiting before. Usually it refers to people making money— printing it instead of earning it. But counterfeiting also can involve all sorts of consumer goods and manufactured products. From well-known brand names such as Calvin Klein jeans to auto parts, counterfeiters have found ways to produce goods that look authentic. In some instances, counterfeit products look better than the original!
The demand of brand-name products has helped counterfeiting grow into a very profitable business throughout the world and into a serious problem for legitimate manufacturers and consumers alike. Faulty counterfeit parts have caused more than two dozen plane crashes. Most counterfeit auto parts do not meet federal safety standards.
Counterfeiting hurts manufacturers in many ways. Analysts estimate that, in the United States alone, annual revenue lost runs from $6 billion to $8 billion perhaps even worse, consumers blame the innocent manufacturer when they unknowingly buy a counterfeit product and find it doesn"t perform as expected. Sometimes entire economies can suffer. For instance, when farmers in Kenya and Zaire used counterfeit fertilizers, both countries lost most of their crops.
In 1984 the U.S. government enacted the Trademark Counterfeiting Act and made counterfeiting of products a criminal offense punishable by fines and stiff jail terms.
Unfortunately counterfeiting does not receive top priority from law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Legitimate firms therefore have the burden of finding their own raids and to fight the problem. IBM, with a court order, conducted its own raids and found" keyboards, displays, and boxes with its logo. The fake parts were used to create counterfeits of IBM"s personal computer "XT".
Some companies have developed secret product codes to identify the genuine article. They must change the codes periodically because counterfeiters learn the codes and duplicate them. Perhaps the most effective way for manufacturers to fight counterfeiting is to monitor the distribution network and make sure counterfeit products are not getting into the network. Some companies even hire investigators to track counterfeit products.
By copying other firms" products, counterfeiters avoid research and development costs and most marketing costs. High-tech products such as computers and their software products are especially vulnerable. As long as counterfeiting is profitable, an abundance of products are available to copy, and the laws are difficult to enforce, counterfeiters can be expected to prosper for a long time.According to the passage whose demand contributes to the abounding of counterfeit products
A．The consumer
B．The counterfeiter
C．The government
D．The shop
