The Wholesale Forums

[greedyboy]

Top Shop and other fashion stores have been doing it for years. Very occasionally the original designer will take them to court and very occasionally they will get an injunction.

It is a very grey area hence the copied iPods, iPhones available from China are not identical and do not pass off as the product (no logos etc).l

[kyrool]

True, there is nothing much the authorities can do about it when the phones are just merely copying their designs. It's illegal in the eyes of the law when they are exact replicas;logos and brand name included but it is just deemed morally wrong when a different brand and logo is put in place.

I have to agree with anotheruser that without concrete evidence, the courts are pretty much powerless to charge these pirates for copyright infringement. Well, just for information sake, I was searching browsing through the net when I stumbled upon this link. It's actually the norm for pirates to copy designs through mediums such as magazines or the internet and then manufacture them in mass. A pirate which was interviewed for the article in this link actually reiterated that fact.

http://chinapost.com.tw/business/200...-knockoffs.htm

It's pretty much appalling and sad to know that these pirates do not have the least respect for the hard work that brand owners have put in.

Oh wells, I guess money does make the world go round. Especially so, for these people.

[D M]

Do these western brands deserve respect from the chinese?

[anotheruser]

My question too, D M. Indeed, do they deserve respect from we westerners?

I don't believe for one moment most of it is original design, just corporate bucks to brand and register the IP. It goes further. What "right" do the music manufacturing companies really have, if we live in democracies, to dictate how either consumers or artists behave?

How much software development have Microsoft actually undertaken, rather than buying, copying and bullying the smaller guys into giving them "rights"? No way. Their marketing budget and shareholder maws are too large and wide for there to be enough left over for that sort of frippery.

[kyrool]

Well, DM, the underlying meaning that I'm trying to put across would be respecting the simple meaning of the work put in itself by brand owners regardless of where they are from. Imagine creating a unique profit generating product, only to find that your sales growth are hindered by such pirates. It's definitely going to be frustrating.

Where's the integrity and respect in them? Unfortunately, the world is not perfect and there's always going to be pirates, no matter we like it or not. Putting feelings aside, the answer to the reason behind the growth of pirates worldwide is simple; greed. Greed breeds contempt.

[greedyboy]

Originally Posted by skoolboyz

Putting feelings aside, the answer to the reason behind the growth of pirates worldwide is simple; greed. Greed breeds contempt.

I think you can put the blame squarely on the consumer. No consumer - no product sales.

[anotheruser]

The level of consumerism in society has to be a good thing. It oils the wheels of commerce and helps push living standards up across the board. Maybe we could (ought to? I don't know) bleat about the cult of personality and brand, but would that get us anywhere?

Please don't get me wrong. I believe real Intellectual Property should be protected. I just question how much of it is real and I applaud the competitive elements because they enliven and further stimulate the market place. The courts, in the guise of the law makers and the law interpreters, are right in my view to not punish anything which looks vaguely like . . . whatever.

Besides, what on earth would that huge army of lawyers, inspectors, IP specialists, academics, do by way of gainful employment if the arguments stopped? They wouldn't earn enough to be posers, the level of market activity would drop and we'd all be worse off.

[rheabs]

Thought ill post this being its out on the Market Today 9 Nov 07

The new iPhone has created a lot of interest and later some conflict. Apple has signed an exclusivity deal with O2 for the iPhone. If you want to use an iPhone in the UK it has to be via an O2 contract. This has caused a few problems for those who wish to buy an iPhone independently and use it with their existing contracts.

If people unlock or hack into their iPhone, it may have irreparable damage. New features updates will not be able to b transformed into the phone so therefore once unlocked will not be able to gain the full effects from the new phone by Apple. Apple claims that is has not done anything that will cause the hacked or unlocked phones to be disabled but they have made it clear that it will be a waste of money to have a phone that cannot install features after it has been unlocked.

Hacking will always be an on going battle with technology, as they will always come up with something better to break into the latest technology. It is too much of a challenge to build a system that is unbreakable as there will always be a better system. Along with the hacking problems, the new phone has also seen an increased number of unauthorised applications like ringtones, wallpapers and games.

Apple states... that they want their customers to be impressed so they will want to offer top notch features and technology for their customers to use. Just don't mess with their technology as it may ruin them forever and there is no point spending £269 on a block of plastic!

Rheabs

[anotheruser]

Another lock in. This will do wonders for Apple's bottom line in the short term. But just as M$ is now waning in importance due to its wish to lock us all in and rule our lives, both Google and Apple will lose out in the longer run because the whole trend of consumers is towards openness and choice.