Press release
The public-private partnership Stop Piracy has launched its "Piracy is cruel" campaign to mark Stop Piracy Day 2010. The heavyweight highlight of the event was a steamroller that flattened thousands of counterfeits at Berne-Belp Airport.
Today's launch of the new Stop Piracy campaign makes one thing clear: there's always a catch with piracy. It is mostly dangerous, often risky and always illegal. But above all these things, piracy is cruel. Counterfeiters act without scruples and are only interested in short-term profit – not in the security or health of consumers. They work underground and so are rarely accountable for the damage they cause.
Beneficiaries of piracy are also cruel
But consumers who use or buy counterfeit goods also care too little about the consequences of their actions. Fakes not only endanger industry and jobs, but an individual's own computer, perhaps even their life, depending on the circumstances. The stakes are particularly high for people who purchase counterfeit medicines over the Internet. The danger is real – even in Switzerland: in the last year over 50,000 consignments of illegal medicines were sent by post from individuals to Switzerland.
A pirate's hook through counterfeit goods
The new campaign from Stop Piracy clearly shows how cruel and destructive piracy can be, and what effect it has on individual industries: the motifs of the campaign show the products affected pierced by a pirate's hook – regardless of the consequences. It is unfortunate that in reality, a product's flaws are not always so easy to spot, which makes the informative role of Stop Piracy all the more important. The new campaign is helping Stop Piracy to provide more frequent and more detailed information. The new motifs will draw close attention to the problem of piracy when they go on display in cinemas, on TV, on the Internet, on billboards, on postcards and in press adverts over the next few weeks.
STOP PIRACY is called into action
Today, Stop Piracy Day, the organization not only showed the media the new motifs for its campaign, but also several thousand counterfeit watches, medicines, CDs and DVDs. Stop Piracy actively contributed to the fight by using construction machinery to flatten watches, CDs and DVDs confiscated by Swiss customs. Illegal medicines were incinerated following the correct procedure to ensure that their disposal was as environmentally friendly as possible.
STOP PIRACY – an initiative backed by industry and the authorities
According to predictions made by international specialist organizations, instances of counterfeiting and piracy are likely to increase further in the years to come. SStop Piracy is fighting this phenomenon by drawing it to the public's attention and by strengthening cooperation and coordination between the public and private sectors. More information on Stop Piracy can be found at www.stop-piracy.ch.
