China, Copiers Par Excellence, Take Their Art to a New Level

August 1st, 2011

They have copied an entire store

In China, the “Copy pirates” can copy anything. We’ve all seen the watches and pens, the handbags and luggage and thousands of other items, copied so perfectly that it’s not easy to pick the out the original. Once upon a time the Chinese were the developers of such items as the compass, gunpowder and papermaking, among some of the great inventions that shaped world history.

Today

Now some ‘business’ people in the US are copying not just the products of hot Western brands, but entire stores. In the southwest China city of Kunming, officials found five Apple stores last month, including one near flawless "branch". None of these were authorized by the U.S. electronics company. Another fake Apple store operates in Chongqin City, the China Daily newspaper reported. A photo exposé posted by an American expatriate blogger in Kunming recently became a global Internet sensation and prompted the government’s own belated inspection. For those in the front-line fight against China’s pirates, these bad apples taste all too familiar.

Copying everything

"You get everything from McDonald’s and Starbucks lookalikes to whole hotels copied," says Chris Bailey, a China-based executive at intellectual property consultancy firm Rouse. "It’s pretty normal, not just the look and decoration but fake certificates too, and good enough to fool people," he says. And why so brazen? "The penalties don’t outweigh the benefits." Last week, an entrepreneur in the southern city of Zhongshan faced trial for running an Abercrombie & Fitch store, packed with fake merchandise, reported the Zhongshan Daily newspaper. The U.S. clothing company has yet to open a China store.

Counterfeiting

China is well-known for counterfeiting. For decades, it has exported knock-offs of high-end designer bags such as Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Coach, as well as fake Rolex and Omega watches and cigarette brands such as Marlboro. Pirated DVDs of American films can be bought on streets and the Web. Even fake collectible U.S. coins are minted. But with China’s economic rise, there been a boost in demand for Western brands. Snoopy and the Playboy bunny logo are often stitched onto clothing. If consumers can’t find or afford KFC or McDonald’s, lookalikes include KMC and MKC, while several coffee chains mimic Starbucks’ logo. Plants in China’s southern provinces near Hong Kong have been caught producing imitation Windows software, Duracell batteries, Chanel fragrances and even Viagra.

Shanzhai culture

A major obstacle is China’s shanzhai culture, whereby some Chinese delight in making cheap imitations, sometimes in parody, of expensive, famous brands. At its most innocent, shanzhai celebrates the Chinese office worker who last month surprised colleagues by turning up in his homemade Iron Man suit.

Fake products

Fake Chinese products, such as food and medications, threaten consumers. "There is too much tolerance of the shanzhai," says Paul Ranjard, a lawyer at Beijing’s Wanhuida, a law firm and intellectual property agency. "It’s infringement, but there is an ambiguous attitude" in Chinese society and its courtrooms, he says.

Apple

Even at Apple’s flagship Beijing store, one of only four nationwide, there appears some grudging respect for the Kunming copycat. "We were surprised, and had to laugh, as it looks just like our store, but I hope it is shut down soon," salesman Ge Heng says.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 1st, 2011 at 4:33 am and is filed under Business, Economy, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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