“We did a study in France, and most people think of counterfeiting as a game they play with the police,” says Marc-Antoine Jamet, president of Union des Fabricants (Unifab). The French trade group opened the Musée de la Contrefaçon (Museum of Counterfeiting) in 1951 as a way to educate the public. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Visitors compare knock-offs and authentic products in an exhibit at the museum. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
A genuine Hugo perfume bottle, left, is displayed next to a counterfeit one with the name “Vigo.” The growing trade in fakes annually costs France alone an estimated 38,000 jobs and 6 billion euros (roughly $8.5 billion at current exchange rates). (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
High-end items aren’t the only products counterfeited. Household cleaners, beverages and other everyday stuff are also copied. Its hard to be seen as a victim when you are talking about luxury goods, Unifab’s Jamet says. But when you say [that] the people who make the fake perfumes and cosmetics also make fake medicine or products to clean your house, they listen to you more. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Bic pen caps and their fakes. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Tabasco vs. “Tabard.” (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Counterfeited health and beauty products, including condoms, point to the changing nature of the counterfeit trade. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Packs of cigarettes, some authentic, others not so much. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Genuine and counterfeit dolls line a shelf. The fakes (the right two) are valuable learning tools. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
Designer sunglasses both real and fake are on display. (Yves Forestier / Getty Images)
