Imitating property is theft.

This week, the American government unveiled a new $20 bill. Designed to stay one step ahead of counterfeiters, its most notable feature is its color: the stately green and black of the old bills has been joined by sprightly peach and blue. Alone, this might pose little deterrent to America's digital forgers. Armed with PCs, scanners and laser printers, they account for roughly 40% of all counterfeit currency confiscated in America. Other features, however, will make copying far more difficult than it was: the new bill has enhanced security devices--including a watermark, security thread and special inks. Thomas Ferguson, director of the Treasury's bureau of engraving and printing, says that keeping counterfeits at bay has as much to do with strict law enforcement and public co-operation as it does with high technology. Where once counterfeits were cheap and shoddy imitations of the real thing, today their packaging and contents (especially for digital products such as software, music CDs and film DVDs) often render them almost indistinguishable from the genuine article. Most of China's counterfeit bounty stays inside the country, but rising quantities are now destined for foreign markets--as recent customs seizures in America show. The World Health Organization reckons that 5-7% of pharmaceuticals worldwide may be counterfeit--with too few active ingredients, too many contaminants, fake labels or recycled packaging that covers up expiry dates.