Knock-Offs: Another Type of Piracy?

by jordan | August 13, 2008 at 12:38 pm

1227 views | 27 Recommendations | 13 comments

Intellectual property is one of the fiercest battlegrounds in the web-enabled world, as record labels, movie studios, software developers, and fans of entertainment slug it out over business models, the concept of ownership, and sale vs. license. Meanwhile, another front has opened up in this conflict: knock-offs.

Those faux-Pradas and mock-Kate Spade bags found in market stalls 'round the globe are now undeer fire from the American Bar Association. The ABA is trying to settle upon a decision between resolutions to somehow protect fashion designers from the legions of knockoffs. Judging by the (lack of) success in battling media pirates, I don't like their chances.

The adopted resolution reads, in part: “Believing that there is sufficient need for greater intellectual property protection than is now available for fashion designs, [the group] supports, in principle, enactment of federal legislation to provide a new limited copyright-like...

Unlike with digital piracy, though, fashion knock-offs carry the same costs of production as mass-produced fashion items... and they are indeed mass-produced.

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Jason Sanders

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:47 on August 13th, 2008

That's a neat way of thinking about it. Also, I guess also it's an evolution of the original "yarr" piracy of the 1800s that we all know and love.

Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:48 on August 13th, 2008

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.

henry birkenbine

at 17:51 on August 13th, 2008

A lot of knock offs are the exact same product from the same factory. The 'real' items are sent to europe for labels. that is it. come even make their way back to hong kong at 10 times the price.

carolbrowne

at 21:04 on August 13th, 2008

My TokiDoki bag came right from China with the label sewn inside that says, "Carefully sewn in the USA". My friend gave it to me as a gift. He said it cost $6. Crazy.

JustSomePunter

at 01:05 on August 14th, 2008

This picture (link below) was taken in Rome at Piazza Navona. The guys selling the fake designer bags (and sunglasses) were all over the city. At times the police would move them along, which meant them moving out of sight and setting up again.
It's easy to condemn their activities, but we also need to remember that their market is driven by supply and demand - if there was no demand for cheap knock-offs then the supply would soon dry up.

JustSomePunter has contributed a photo to this story.

maketheheadline

at 01:50 on August 14th, 2008

While photographing arcades in Skegness, UK I came across a 10 pence machine with prizes such as counterfeit Chanel and D&G necklaces and watches.

maketheheadline has contributed a photo to this story.

maxgoldwirestein

at 04:46 on August 14th, 2008

Those shoes are knockoffs of a product produced by "A Bathing Ape", a japanese based company, they retail for upwards of $200, but the ones pictured often go for less than $50.

maxgoldwirestein has contributed a photo to this story.

altrugon

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:58 on August 14th, 2008

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.

When you go to shops like Winners or TK Maxx and you find the same article 50% off of the original price, you wonder why those articles are overprice.

Do you want that we buy original? Make it CHEAP! I barely can buy a house and you can't count your massions with your fingers of one hand.

World_Groove

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:26 on August 14th, 2008

call me a conspiracy theorist, but I would say some of these companies might knock off their own products.... First you set an insane price for an item, make bank from the rich, then market it underground to the masses of wanna be rich