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Thread: Chinese Counterfeits, Fakes & Knock-Offs

  1. #1
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    Chinese Counterfeits, Fakes & Knock-Offs

    Given China's rise as global power, I've been wondering when copyright issues would rear up again.

    Feds bust counterfeit goods pipeline to S.F.
    Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer
    Wednesday, August 4, 2010

    (08-03) 18:47 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Yarin Molad, the owner of Traveler Photo and Electronics in bustling Fisherman's Wharf, said he had known for years that the purses, shoes and sunglasses sold to tourists in the store next to his were not really made by big-name companies like Louis Vuitton or Dolce & Gabbana.

    The products, he said, had the same logo and fabric patterns as the famed brands but lacked the three-figure prices. The store was difficult to compete with, and cast a light of suspicion on its neighbors.

    "Customers would come into my shop, look at my Ray-Bans and wonder if they were real," said Molad.

    On Tuesday, the small store Molad referred to - New CWK Gift - was closed. Instead of colorful wares on the sidewalk, the business had white curtains and a "No trespassing" sign in its window.

    Federal authorities recently raided New CWK Gift and seven other shops in Fisherman's Wharf. On Tuesday, they announced the seizure of more than 200,000 counterfeit retail items valued at $100 million - if they were genuine, that is - during what they called the largest-ever bust of retail counterfeiters on the West Coast.

    Prosecutors charged 11 people with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States and trafficking in counterfeit goods, said U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello. Ten of those indicted were residents of San Francisco, he said.

    If convicted, they could face up to 35 years in prison. Some could also face deportation to China depending on their immigration status, he said.

    "The significant impact of trafficking in such merchandise on the American economy should be obvious," Russoniello said at a press conference at Crissy Field, flanked by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

    The network targeted by the agencies is accused of importing goods from China that imitated 70 national and international brands, including Nike, Burberry, Kate Spade and Armani. The stores that allegedly sold the items - all of which were shuttered - include L&J Fashion, New Life Gift, C&K Gifts and La Bella Boutique.

    The operation was first discovered in December 2007, authorities said, when customs officials seized a container at the Port of Oakland stuffed with 50,000 counterfeit designer accessories.
    Multiple purchases

    Investigators then conducted a number of sting operations at the stores. Time and time again, Russoniello said, they purchased counterfeit items.

    While significant, the seizure represents a small slice of the market in sham goods, which some estimate is as large as 7 to 8 percent of the world's retail economy, said Fred Felman, the chief marketing officer for MarkMonitor, a San Francisco firm that helps companies protect their brands.

    "You look at this and you think it is just purses and sunglasses," he said. "And then you look at it with respect to the global economy, and it is something else."

    Experts say counterfeiters, who exploit others' hard work and innovation, have grown as economies become more global and the Internet flourishes - dark corners and all - as a prime destination for shoppers.

    The problem has hounded everyone from cigarette makers to the military. A report by the U.S. Department of Commerce in January 2010 found that 39 percent of electronics companies contracted by the Department of Defense encountered counterfeit electronics from subcontractors, more than doubling from 2005 to 2008.
    The source is China

    John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Tuesday that counterfeiting "occurs in every facet of American industry and production." However, he said, most phony goods - from purses to pharmaceuticals - originate in China.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a new unit to respond to counterfeiting last fall, and officials hope Tuesday's bust can be the first of many.

    But there are two kinds of buyers of counterfeit goods: those who believe they are purchasing the real thing and those who understand they are getting a cheap knock-off that kind of looks like the real thing.

    Lisa Taylor, a tourist visiting Fisherman's Wharf from Alabama, said Tuesday that she knowingly purchased counterfeit sunglasses in New York City's Times Square recently.

    "I don't think it is a threat," she said. "It is part of the culture in these areas."

    E-mail Will Kane at wkane@sfchronicle.com.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  2. #2
    They have been counterfeiting our parts over there for a few years now. Some of them are easy to spot, others are pretty good couterfeits. I work in high tech, fyi.

  3. #3
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    so, if you're wondering where your job went... lol

    counterfeiting is a multi-billion dollar industry.

    knockoffs hurt society more than most people suspect.

    some people think it's great to get a fake coach purse for 1/10th the price.
    Personally, I don't believe that person ever would have purchased a real one anyway.

    But stealing other peoples designs without compensating them is wrong period. Cultural pluralism or relativism simply doesn't apply.

    It really is a real problem and if it is going to stop, it will have to stop at the demand end. No demand, no supply it really is that simple.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  4. #4
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    Obama Fried Chicken

    Too awesome for words. I'm only cut&pastin the first two. Follow the link for the rest. You won't be disappointed.

    Obama Fried Chicken?! Ridiculous Knockoff Goods From China
    Dec 24, 2012 by Michelle


    It’s well known that China produces an overwhelming amount of counterfeit goods. The country is most famous for producing fake designer handbags, but there’s a surprising amount of non-apparel items floating around on the Chinese black market. In recent years, production of knockoff consumer items has been rapidly increasing and the International Chamber of Commerce expects international trade of counterfeit goods to reach $1.7 trillion by 2015.

    Although this poses an enormous problem for the world economy, Chinese-produced counterfeit goods provide the citizens of the internet with a good laugh at some of the obviously fake products. Take a look at just a fraction of the outrageous knockoff goods you can find in China where a misspelled word is a mere minor offense.

    Chinese Knockoffs


    ▲ I think I like the foo dog design better than the original mermaid design.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  5. #5
    Chinese knock everything off. It's to the point where I won't even buy Chinese electronic components from an independent source. They will knock off a 30 cent op amp that is like 1/10 the quality and push them for like 18 cents a unit as if it was a great deal. So weak. If it's cheaper than normal, and from China, I REFUSE to even consider it anymore. Tired of substandard parts. And it's really sad coz they do make great stuff in China. And I could get good deals if I could do diagnostics on the parts before hand. So I have to go with bigger companies who deal in the parts and do all those tests before sending them out. Quality control is so under regulated in China. So you have great items and crap items coming from the same factories some times. And sometimes knockoffs are actually stolen originals re-labelled or just un-labelled. Hard to tell which is which tho, not worth the risk when one crap component can fuck you hard later on.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Too awesome for words. I'm only cut&pastin the first two. Follow the link for the rest. You won't be disappointed.
    OK, Obama Fried Chicken just seems outright racist. You know they would never have a Romney or McCain Fried Chicken. I bet they even sell watermelon!!!

  7. #7
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    Early in the period when I lived in Taiwan, in the '80s, they had a brand of toothpaste called Darkie Toothpaste. It had an old-fashioned looking charicature of a wide-eyed, grinning black man in a top hat on the package. A well-known African-American Tv personality (and DJ?) in Taipei, whose Mandarin was excellent, protested it to the point they changed the name to Darlie, and changed the drawing to a white man in a top hat.

  8. #8
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    As for China products, you really can't escape it. My ipad was made there. But if I have a choice, I will spend more for a product NOT made in China. I simply do not trust the quality control, or even the safety/reliability of the materials themselves.

  9. #9
    Well you are in luck because Apple is now doing "assembly" in the US for iPads and a few other high demand items. Of course it's still all Chinese parts.

    But Apple is one of those companies that does go out of its way to ensure reasonable quality control in both components and finished product.

    I don't like their anti hacking cases tho. Weak. You don't truly own a product till you tear it open and void that warranty!

  10. #10
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    Hak Gwai Yu/Hei Gwei Yu is a trauma oil that is sold OTC.

    Bak Gwai/Bai Gwei means Cracker or Whitey.

    Hak Gwai means Black Ghost, nasty slang for Darkie.
    Mouth Boxers have not the testicular nor the spinal fortitude to be known.
    Hence they hide rather than be known as adults.

  11. #11
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    Just before I left Homeland Security we got a bulletin on Chinese counterfeit US documents.

    There have always been places you could get said documents, but it is becoming more prevalent now. They're starting to become VERY good at microprinting and all the security features we place in important documents like passports and currency.

    We also have had some drivers licenses from China that were so well made that police officers couldn't tell the difference. Holographics were just as good. Only way to tell was to scan it.
    It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. - Apache Proverb

  12. #12
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    To quote myself...

    From an old informercial I wrote titled: Monk Takes Off His Shoe: The Sequel: My Continuing Life as a Shaolin Shoe Salesman
    This has created a rather ironic situation for the marketing of a Chinese import - brand loyalty in Asia, the land of abundant knockoffs from Rolex to Microsoft. Now I have nothing against knockoffs as long as they work. One of my all-time favorite knockoffs was a fashion line of clothing called McDonald's Sport, cheesy commie disco shirts complete with the golden arches. I still bust out my McDonald's Sport shirt when I want to annoy my friends. I love cheesy knockoffs.


    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by JamesC View Post
    Just before I left Homeland Security we got a bulletin on Chinese counterfeit US documents.

    There have always been places you could get said documents, but it is becoming more prevalent now. They're starting to become VERY good at microprinting and all the security features we place in important documents like passports and currency.

    We also have had some drivers licenses from China that were so well made that police officers couldn't tell the difference. Holographics were just as good. Only way to tell was to scan it.
    Passports aren't that tough. RFID and decent databases make it a lil tougher, but it's still not as hard as you would think. I know a guy who actually cultivated false identities and nurtured their data over periods of years, decades even. He'd been doing it since the 60's and grew along with the industry. When I knew him, you could purchase an identity that had a ton of background. Registered here, signed this doc, attended so and so etc etc... Pretty good paper trail for somebody who never existed. And yes, he was Chinese. HK actually. He came here in 95 right before the changeover. I still don't even know his real name.

  14. #14
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    Fake cigs

    January 28, 2013 / Brooklyn news
    Counterfeit cigarettes seized by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes
    DA Hynes: Six million counterfeit cigarettes from China seized
    By Colin Mixson
    The Brooklyn Paper




    These smokes are smooth, mellow, and totally off the books!

    Detectives with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Money Laundering and Revenue Crimes Bureau seized more than 30,000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes from a Borough Park warehouse Thursday night — $4.5 million worth of blissfully tax-free tobacco pleasure, according to Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes.

    “Selling this poison… is a drain on the state and city economy, because these cigarettes are entirely untaxed,” said Hynes at press conference Friday afternoon, surrounded by mounds of impounded bogies falsely labled as Marlboros, Newports and Camels.

    The seizure, which was the result of six months of grueling undercover work, coincided with the arrest of Yin Haun Zhao, so far the only suspect in custody for the multi-million dollar counterfeit operation.

    These counterfeit smokes, aside from depriving the city of $1.8 million in tax revenue, also carry additional health risks beyond the increased risk of emphysema and various forms of cancer typically associated with tobacco smoking.

    In China, where the bogus butts originated, unregulated tobacco is sometimes dried by trucks rolling over the nicotine-filled leaves laid out on the ground, lacing it with leaded gas fumes in the process, according to Michael Vecchione, Chief of the Brooklyn DA’s Racket Division.

    “As unhealthy as smoking is, smoking counterfeit and bootleg cigarettes is even worse, because there is no way of knowing what chemicals they contain,” said Hynes.

    The Brooklyn’s DA’s office is certainly high on the recent bust, though some smokers in the borough may have preferred sucking on contaminated cigarettes over paying New York City’s smoking tax, which at $5.85 is the highest in the country.
    I don't smoke, but I'm told that Chinese cigs are pretty good by American smokers. Flying Horse was a popular brand when I was there last. The area near Shaolin produces tobacco. But Hynes is right - who knows what kind of chems are in them?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #15
    Yeah maybe, but the knockoffs are poison. They have even found human feces in many samples. And that's not counting the extra poison. Many Chinese products conform to the standards of the importers. But when it comes to knockoffs, lots of short cuts. I wouldn't go near any Chinese knockoff for any reason. Maybe down the road that will change. But today, not a chance. Especially with consumables.

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