Learn English – a term for the “process of copying somebody’s work/invention”

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I need a phrase to mean process of copying somebody's work is in the context of industry/manufacturing. Is there a concise phrase with the meaning similar to "plagiarism" by a competitor in business (e.g. copy a car engine or design of the car)? I am describing a situation where a competitor can benefit from the lack of R&D costs, and bring their product to market with a higher profit margin.

  • reproduction
  • cloning
  • replication

I think "This was done to make the reproduction of their work by competitors more difficult." sounds not so bad and also doesn't lose the desired meaning.

The style is that of a technical register.

It seems that counterfeiting is too strict for the current sentence.

Perhaps I should restructure the sentence:

Not least of all it was done to make the reproduction and distribution of their work (e.g. through reverse engineering of products and technological processes) by competitors more difficult (as the result of competing in manufacturing speed).

In this way both meanings are covered, though it is not a single word nor a phrase, rather enumeration of the senses: reproduction (clone/copy) and distribution (selling).

Best Answer

Counterfeit might fit. It implies the imitation of an original product.

To counterfeit means to imitate something. Counterfeit products are fake replicas of the real product.

Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product.

The word counterfeit frequently describes both the forgeries of currency and documents, as well as the imitations of clothing, handbags, shoes, pharmaceuticals, aviation and automobile parts, watches, electronics (both parts and finished products), software, works of art, toys, movies.

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From International Trademark Association:

Counterfeiting is the practice of manufacturing goods, often of inferior quality, and selling them under a brand name without the brand owner’s authorization.

Anything that can be made can be counterfeited.

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