Nissan Saved From Chinese Counterfeit Underworld–Jonathan Munk
Today Nissan announced they are the first Japanese carmaker to be granted a trademark in China–a huge step for the company entering a market where counterfeiting is as common as wontons.
Now Nissan Motor will be able to take legal action against companies and people who fraudulently use the company’s logo or something similar to it. Nissan has made a breakthrough in China by getting trademark protection.
This is more than rival Toyota has been able to do. When someone spotted a shipment of cars at a Chinese port with a ‘Tayota’ logo on them, they were unable to stop the shipment from getting send to Libya, according to an article in Forbes.
This kind of counterfeiting may seem odd to us folks in the U.S. where infringement is not a national underground market, but in many other places around the globe, it’s the norm.
Take Venezuela, for example. Having lived there myself, I can say that rampant counterfeiting is everywhere. You can buy laundry detergent with a logo you’d swear was Tide (but it isn’t) or a SQNY (not SONY) stereo for an amazingly low price. I even met a Peruvian man there who made and sold clothes for a living. He would regularly go to a store that sold sewing supplies. In the back of the store, there were hundreds of counterfeit logos from every major U.S. clothing brand. At the time, his top sellers were Nike and Tommy Hilfiger.
No Venezuelan was tricked into thinking the clothes were really from the manufacturer, but the clothes went fast because the shirt-maker used other companys’ hard earned image to move his product, and people wanted to look trendy.
Even here in the states, counterfeiting occurs, albeit in rural areas. When you drive into Iona, Idaho, instead of pulling up to the 7-Eleven for some snacks and gas, you’ll find yourself filling up at a 6-Twelve.
And in Midway, Utah, you won’t find a Dairy Queen logo anywhere when you want a shake; but you will find a Dairy Keen , and it’s actually very popular.
Trademarks are a valued possession, and it’s not just socks, hats and watches that are being counterfeited these days.
December 22nd, 2006
I think that this is a remarkable achievement and every company has the right to protect its copyrights regardless of the region they are working in.
Fan of Don Lapre
larisa@larisajoyreilly.com
August 11th, 2008
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