Due to the asymmetry and conceptual differences in the laws of various countries, coupled with the lax law enforcement, insufficient criminal law protection, and too low administrative penalties in the process of trademark registration, protection and trademark infringement enforcement in my country, it is not enough to deter infringers. On issues such as intellectual property protection, we have become a weak point against which major countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea attack us.
1 Due to external troubles and internal troubles, it is time to eradicate the chaos
The author tries to use China’s garment industry as a For example, it analyzes the harm caused by “copycat” brands, calls on the whole society to respect and protect intellectual property rights, respect innovation, and boycott “copycat” brands; it also recommends improving legislation and strict enforcement in the field of trademark rights, raising the public’s awareness of law-abiding, and contributing to China’s economic globalization. , the globalization of Chinese brands creates a fair, just and honest legal business environment.
1. Harms of squatting
Malicious imitation and squatting Expanding the scope of registration for trademarks that are identical or similar to well-known trademarks and forming a hunt for well-known brands has become a shortcut for some businesses to obtain huge profits. There is a ridiculing limerick popular on the Internet: “cardans” are everywhere, “foxes” roam the streets, “old people” have their heads stolen, “crocodiles” roam everywhere, and street stalls across the country are “Polo”. It vividly expresses the prevalence of “shanzhai” brands. This is the epitome of unfair competition in Chinese business. Due to the obvious growth in offline and online sales of well-known brands in recent years, some speculators are ready to take illegal risks. The author retrieved nearly 7,000 cases based on “trademark infringement disputes” through the Court Judgment Document Network and the Intellectual Property Database. Most of these cases were concentrated in the past five years. New Balance VS NEW.BARUN, UNDER ARMOR (Under Armor) VS UNCLE MARTIAN (Anchor Martin), and Polo sport VS Polo Ralph Lauren trademark disputes that have attracted great attention from the society are typical cases.
The prevalence of squatting reflects the imperfections in China’s trademark legislation and registration review mechanism, giving rise to opportunism This leaves room for predators to take advantage of the situation; on the other hand, it also reflects the lack of integrity of some business entities under the market economy system, extremely distorts the basic values of Chinese business, and also undermines our country’s encouragement of intellectual property protection, opposition to unfair competition, and the creation of a complete The status of a market economy country poses a real threat, and China has been labeled as a “copycat country”.
2. The harm of inferior quality
China is a major clothing manufacturing country. There are always many people in the industry who pride themselves on “there is no clothing that cannot be made in China”. “Copycat” brands not only use brand imitation to confuse perceptions and attract traffic, but also directly purchase products of the “copycat” brand as samples, and mass-produce inferior products for sale by reducing materials and manufacturing costs. These “copycat” brand products appear to be the same in appearance at first glance, but after consumers buy them back and use them, internal and external quality problems such as fading, pilling, shrinkage, and deformation emerge one after another. In addition, they cannot provide standardized after-sales services, which undermines the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. There is no guarantee at all. At the same time, in order to obtain orders, a large number of manufacturers have sacrificed their own products and assisted in the processing of “copycat” brands. They have given up investment in and application of research and development of new materials, new products, new technologies, and new equipment, and have gradually lost the ability to integrate with international brands. In the long run, Chinese clothing manufacturing will eventually become synonymous with shoddy manufacturing, and the craftsmanship and quality advantages of Made in China will be completely lost.
3. The harm of low prices
“Copycat” brand pretense The goodwill and quality reputation of well-known brands are compared with their price tags and malicious low-price sales, forming a huge price gap with well-known brands. This is supplemented by a series of combination strategies such as confusing publicity and personal store openings to pursue and intercept well-known brands, thereby taking advantage of them. profit from fishing. This kind of behavior not only caused a fatal blow to the “copycat” brand, but also had a huge impact on clothing peers and even the entire industry chain, seriously undermining the orderly development and healthy competition rules of the entire industry.
Careful consumers will find that the “Polo” brand has become “popular” in China in recent years, and a variety of products with polo riders as their LOGOs are everywhere. Shopping malls, markets and outlets.
Among them, “Polo sport” is the most crazy one. “Polo sport” and its rider graphics are compared with “Polo Ralph Lauren” and its rider graphics registered in New York, USA in 1968. Most consumers cannot tell the difference and generally mistakenly think that “Polo sport” is an American brand. Ralph Lauren’s high-end men’s clothing brand. It is precisely by taking advantage of this misunderstanding and its low-cost advantage in China that “Polo sport” has expanded and penetrated wildly in various cities across the country. They can be found everywhere in shopping malls, outlets, pop-up stores, etc., with “20-40% off the entire site” and “Authentic American Polo…” hyped up, attracting an endless stream of buyers. Consumers pay based on the logo of holding a polo pole, but little do they know that this is not “Polo Ralph Lauren” at all! In order to further occupy the commanding heights of public opinion and flaunt high-end authentic American brands, they do not hesitate to set up shop in international metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai.Set up points. In the capital city of Beijing, major famous stores such as Xidan, Wangfujing, Seth, and Capital have their hot daily sales; in Shanghai, the capital of Shanghai, there are hypermarkets, shopping mall islands, and even the prime business district of Nanjing Road. Special sale flagship store. Major shopping malls in China’s political and economic center cities are actually willing to endorse the popularity of this type of brand; there are also some online low-price competition channels with similar value orientations that have become its partners.
Of course, the brands listed above are just one of the representatives. The Internet and offline shopping malls are full of such brands. Consumers are unable to guard against them, and the harm has reached the point where they have to be cured.
“Copycat” brands continue to refresh their sales performance with their deceptive sales models. This model of blocking sales with confusing publicity and closing deals at high prices and low discounts has made other brand physical stores unbearable. Some merchants have chosen to withdraw from operations in order to protest against the short-term behavior of the channel parties at the expense of the interests of other brands; some of the remaining brand merchants are constantly being “paced” and trapped in a vicious cycle of low prices, making their operations difficult.
China’s commercial retail channels as a whole have become a place for “copycat” brands to steal, and the retail environment and order have encountered severe challenges. This is the tragedy of Chinese business, the tragedy of brands, and the tragedy of consumers! If we cannot collectively curb the harm caused by low prices of “copycat” brands, quickly clean up the bad apples, restore normal business order, and eliminate the crisis of consumer trust, how can we have the confidence to talk about a China of integrity and a China governed by the rule of law? Where does one have the confidence to envision the future globalization of Chinese business?
2 The right time and place coincides with the rise of domestic products
We are here In the era of globalization, in China under the rule of law, businessmen should, on the basis of their talents, be more exemplary in abiding by domestic laws and regulations and a series of international rules and agreements such as the WTO, pursue more dignified development, use legal rules as the criterion, and ethical conduct. In order to restrain, it further demonstrates the self-confidence and self-esteem of Chinese businessmen, and does not damage the glory of the group, nation, and country with selfish interests. The Chinese people have always believed that “those who are virtuous carry their wealth” and “a gentleman should cultivate his heart and be sincere”. If we can seize the current development opportunities in China, merchants will be ashamed to operate “copycat” brands, channels will be proud to sell domestic brands, and consumers will buy domestic products as a trend. Merchants will continue to innovate, create brands, innovate processes, and improve quality. By cultivating independent brands and adding value, we can enhance our competitiveness and win the world on the basis of fairness and integrity. This is also a blessing to the industry, the people, and China!
China has never lacked culture and wisdom, and China has never lacked businessmen with both ability and political integrity. While calling for a boycott of “copycat” brands, we should also look for a path of independent innovation and brand cultivation and development.
The good news is that in the 21st century, China has entered a new historical era of development and progress. Chinese culture is increasingly recognized and respected by the world. Due to the rise of national sentiment and cultural confidence, Driven by the trend of domestic products, the new trend of domestic products has emerged vigorously, and cutting-edge domestic brands are heading towards the world. In recent years, China’s independent brands have kept pace with the times, followed the trend, tapped into the essence of traditional culture, and continuously integrated traditional cultural symbols into product design and development, and value promotion. They not only maintain the advantage of high cost performance, but also enjoy cross-border integration. Changed the original appearance. Domestic sports brands Li Ning and Anta are typical representatives; there are also a large number of “time-honored” brands that have actively introduced new concepts, new technologies, and new models and become new “Internet celebrity” brands. McKinsey’s “2020 Consumer Survey Report” pointed out that Chinese brands no longer focus on producing low-priced products, but strive to upgrade the quality, performance and value of their products. Products with Chinese characteristics are increasingly sought after by young people at home and abroad. This is the hope of domestic products, and this is the source of confidence for Chinese products to go global and become world-famous brands. Chinese domestic products are the historical revival of world-famous brands, which is just around the corner.
What is even more gratifying is that some high-end domestic channels are aware of the great damage caused by “copycat” brands to businesses themselves and consumers, and have chosen to clear them. Retreat; introduce national fashion brands and embrace young groups. There are also some retail channels with standardized operations. When introducing international brands, they pay special attention to the legality review of their source of rights, and no longer pursue pure profit as their only pursuit. It creates a fairer and more standardized business environment for the joint development of national fashion brands and international brands, satisfying consumers’ diversified consumption choices, and protecting their legitimate rights and interests.
At the same time, we have more reason to believe that in the process of comprehensively promoting the rule of law, legislation and law enforcement on intellectual property protection will be further improved, and awareness of intellectual property protection will be further enhanced. The concept that a market economy is an economy governed by the rule of law will be more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. At that time, Chinese businesses, Chinese brands, and Chinese businessmen had confidently integrated into the world. There were no more “copycat” brands in China. </p
