In this article, the author, Ralph Roschlau, MD of Marabu comments on his experiences of how unscrupulous Chinese firms copy & counterfeit the trade mark & products of his company. Although the Marabu trademark is registered in the People's Republic of China, it has been imitated for many years. Chinese authorities fail to prohibit the violation. More worrying is the counterfeiting of Marabu inks. Ink containers nearly identical to originals appear in China again & again, but these are fake & the printing inks contain raw materials dangerous to health which are not allowed in Europe. In 1994 Marabu completely eliminated all lead compounds from production but unfortunately, some manufacturers from overseas continue to use lead compounds, primarily because they are much cheaper than safer organic pigments.
