The collections

The only museum that exhibits fakes!

Discover our collections

The museum exposes three exceptional collections which draw a complete panorama of counterfeiting:

The industrial collection, the historic background and the artistic collection.

Discover the industrial collection
Collection

industrial

The collection of the museum is historically made up of pairs of real and fake items resulting from counterfeiting cases encountered by members of the association. In the interest of representativeness, objects are collected in all sectors of activity.

By nature, counterfeiting takes various forms: type of infringement, degree of faulty workmanship, level of falsification, method of manufacture. The museum takes these aspects into consideration so that all are represented in its collection.

In order to meet the objective of contemporary illustration of the phenomenon, the content of the collection is regularly enriched with recent examples, via the deposit of samples of seizures by the authorities or donations from rights holders and e-platforms.

Collection

historic

As the only institution in the world dedicated to counterfeiting, the museum also fulfills a duty of memory on the evolution of counterfeiting. Its role is therefore also fulfilled in the collection and conservation of data and historical objects.

From Gallo-Roman amphorae to counterfeits of star objects from the 1980s such as the Game Boy or the audio cassette, the Museum thus bears witness to the history of the brands.

Finally, the museum preserves the UNIFAB archives which represent a part of the history of intellectual property rights, in particular its registered trademark registers, predating the creation of the INPI in 1951.

Collection

artistic

In the former smokehouse of the private mansion with carved wood decor, the collection of artistic forgeries brings together several dozen paintings, sculptures, drawings and art items, all withdrawn from the art market for their fraudulent nature.

Through these examples, you will learn more about the various aspects of artistic fraud, and will discover the means of expertise used to authenticate works of art.

Exposing counterfeits in a museum does not go without saying.

They are indeed illicit goods, which are normally destined to end up in the shredder crusher or under the steamroller. Before they reach this final fate, the Counterfeit Museum takes a few samples from the seized counterfeits to exhibit them for educational purposes.

Acquiring counterfeits?

Buying counterfeits is illegal and the Counterfeit Museum obviously abides by this rule: we do not buy counterfeits even to put them in the museum! The majority of counterfeits exhibited in the museum come from seizures by Customs or Police agents. We regularly call on these players in the fight against counterfeiting to update our collection.

Some companies that are victims of counterfeiting provide us with counterfeit samples, appraised by their own Legal Department. These are generally member companies of the Union des Fabricants.

Finally, our association’s partner online sales platforms can also give us counterfeit goods intercepted during fraudulent transactions.

Enfin, les plateformes de vente en ligne partenaires de notre association peuvent également nous remettre des marchandises contrefaisantes interceptées lors de transactions frauduleuses.

Exposing original items?

The museum presents numerous examples in the form of pairs juxtaposing the counterfeit and the original. This bias stems from the legal history of the association since initially, the documents thus collected were used to support court decisions as evidence. This juxtaposition also allows for an immediate comparison that is as unusual as it is educational.

The original objects are given to the Museum by the companies themselves, most of them members of the Union des Fabricants. The examples presented are systematically chosen in accordance with the brands represented.

Which legal framework?

The Union des Fabricants, the association which owns and manages the museum, was recognized as being of public utility in 1877. Committed by its role of combating counterfeiting, it works in close collaboration with public authorities and international protection associations of intellectual property. It is also placed under the supervision of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry and the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, it is linked by partnership agreements with Customs and the National Police.