I think it is immoral and sinful to knowingly purchase the counterfeit goods

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gabrielkitty

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Francesca Gino from the University of North Carolina has shown that counterfeit products promote unethical behavior. The following link will show you the study:
blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/04/09/fake-and-counterfeit-goods-promote-unethical-behaviour/#.Vx7sZPl96dt
According to this study, people using counterfeit products because they want to feel, or be seen as, wealthier than they actually are. It signals an aspiration towards a richer lifestyle. According to this study, people who buy counterfeits for themselves or give them to others may believe that they are simply getting similar products for less money. However, they may be paying a price in terms of their long-term morality.

economist.com/node/1780818
According to the above site, counterfeiting property is theft. Therefore, I think knowingly purchase counterfeit goods just similar with those knowingly purchase stealing from theft.

Therefore, I think as a Catholic, we should avoid using counterfeit products.
 
The Bible said that “the laborer deserves his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18).
The Bible also said that, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
The designer, worker and companies which have produced these goods are entitled to the price they set on their work. If people want these goods, people should pay for it. The counterfeiting is theft, buying counterfeit goods just the same as purchase stealing from theft. I think this is forbidden by God in the Bible.
 
This is a bit tricky, but I don’t see how this would be stealing. I could be wrong, but I believe that counterfeit goods are often made in the same factories in China were the ridiculously expensive goods are made. The only difference is that the “counterfeit” goods are the price they should be while the expensive ones are marked up a ridiculous amount.
 
What do you mean by “counterfeit goods”? Are you talking about fake Rolexes that people buy out of the back of an unmarked van? Or are you talking about clothes at Walmart that are identical to high-end clothes, just with different tags? Or both?

It seems pretty self-evident to me that the former is wrong. I’m not sure about the latter. In those cases, I wouldn’t even know something is a knock-off if it is being sold in a regular retail store. 🤷
 
Joe_5859 said:
What do you mean by “counterfeit goods”? Are you talking about fake Rolexes that people buy out of the back of an unmarked van? Or are you talking about clothes at Walmart that are identical to high-end clothes, just with different tags? Or both?

It seems pretty self-evident to me that the former is wrong. I’m not sure about the latter. In those cases, I wouldn’t even know something is a knock-off if it is being sold in a regular retail store. 🤷
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Yes, your example of fake Rolexes is what I am talking about. Counterfeit goods are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another’s brand name without the brand owner’s authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on either the trade mark, patent or copyright of the brand owner by passing off its goods as made by the brand owner. For detail, please refer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_consumer_goods#cite_note-Chaudhry-1
Counterfeiting is related to organised criminal or even terrorist networks. Therefore, using counterfeit goods are supporting those terrorists indirectly.
telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/18/counterfeit-goods-worth-a-quarter-of-a-trillion-pounds-a-year-sa/
 
Melodeonist said:
This is a bit tricky, but I don’t see how this would be stealing. I could be wrong, but I believe that counterfeit goods are often made in the same factories in China were the ridiculously expensive goods are made. The only difference is that the “counterfeit” goods are the price they should be while the expensive ones are marked up a ridiculous amount.
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Who decides what the price of something should be?

If I sell Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] brand widgets, am I not entitled to charge what I want for them? You are not forced to buy them. If you want to buy Acme[sup]TM[/sup] or no-name widgets, you are entitled to. But if you want genuine Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] widgets with the fold-lock top and rich Corinthian leather, guaranteed hand-made in small batches by Lithuanian mystics who only paint their hedgehogs on Tuesdays, you should pay the price I set.

Secondly, if I put my name on something, I would stand behind it. I would not want my high-quality widgets to get the reputation of being cheap and inferior quality because someone else’s imitation is falling apart. That is damaging my good name. < This would possibly fall under “Thou shalt not bear false witness…”

Thirdly, why should someone else profit off MY name? If it says “Lazarus widgets” then Lazarus should be getting the bucks.
 
John_Lazarus said:
Who decides what the price of something should be?

If I sell Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] brand widgets, am I not entitled to charge what I want for them? You are not forced to buy them. If you want to buy Acme[sup]TM[/sup] or no-name widgets, you are entitled to. But if you want genuine Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] widgets with the fold-lock top and rich Corinthian leather, guaranteed hand-made in small batches by Lithuanian mystics who only paint their hedgehogs on Tuesdays, you should pay the price I set.

Secondly, if I put my name on something, I would stand behind it. I would not want my high-quality widgets to get the reputation of being cheap and inferior quality because someone else’s imitation is falling apart. That is damaging my good name. < This would possibly fall under “Thou shalt not bear false witness…”

Thirdly, why should someone else profit off MY name? If it says “Lazarus widgets” then Lazarus should be getting the bucks.
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I agree with you.👍
 
Some products are produced “for the mass market”, these are copies but I wouldn’t consider them counterfeit; an example might be Wrangler and Rustler jeans, one at $35/pair the other at $15/pair but both by Wrangler Corporation and of equal quality. The Rolex watch is a great example of an actual counterfeit product, I’m not sure how sinful it is to buy one but it certainly is illegal. The most common counterfeit products in the US seem to be pro-sports accessories and apparel. In any case, I assume the sin would be that of vanity more than theft.
 
John_Lazarus said:
Who decides what the price of something should be?

If I sell Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] brand widgets, am I not entitled to charge what I want for them? You are not forced to buy them. If you want to buy Acme[sup]TM[/sup] or no-name widgets, you are entitled to. But if you want genuine Lazarus[sup]TM[/sup] widgets with the fold-lock top and rich Corinthian leather, guaranteed hand-made in small batches by Lithuanian mystics who only paint their hedgehogs on Tuesdays, you should pay the price I set.

Secondly, if I put my name on something, I would stand behind it. I would not want my high-quality widgets to get the reputation of being cheap and inferior quality because someone else’s imitation is falling apart. That is damaging my good name. < This would possibly fall under “Thou shalt not bear false witness…”

Thirdly, why should someone else profit off MY name? If it says “Lazarus widgets” then Lazarus should be getting the bucks.
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I agree heartily. It’s someone trying to trade off a name. And furthermore, there’s nothing that says the counterfeit manufacturer will sell it for less - if s/he feels s/he can get more, s/he will charge as much as possible to make the biggest profit.

It’s greed, plain and simple, and anyone who knowingly purchases a counterfeit good is also guilty, both of stealing and of greed.
 
gabrielkitty said:
Yes, your example of fake Rolexes is what I am talking about. Counterfeit goods are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another’s brand name without the brand owner’s authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on either the trade mark, patent or copyright of the brand owner by passing off its goods as made by the brand owner. For detail, please refer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_consumer_goods#cite_note-Chaudhry-1
Counterfeiting is related to organised criminal or even terrorist networks. Therefore, using counterfeit goods are supporting those terrorists indirectly.
telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/18/counterfeit-goods-worth-a-quarter-of-a-trillion-pounds-a-year-sa/
Click to expand...
Okay. Then I agree with you. 🙂
 
It may or may not be wrong to buy this stuff, but it’s not stealing.

You may think you are buying a respected brand name, but you have not bought the quality. You’ll end up with jewelry that stains your skin, accessories that come apart, watches that tarnish, electronics that stop working.

You get what you pay for.

ICXC NIKA
 
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