Is any Auto brand worth imitating?
In bad company: A firm's identity is stolen
By David Lague International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
BEIJING At first it seemed to be nothing more than a routine if damaging
case of counterfeiting in a country where faking it has become an
industry.
Reports filtering back to the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese
electronics giant NEC in mid-2004 alerted managers that pirated keyboards
and recordable CD and DVD discs bearing the company's brand were on sale
in retail outlets in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Like hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturers now locked in a war of
attrition with intellectual property thieves in China, the company hired
an investigator to track down the pirates.
After two years and thousands of hours of investigation in conjunction
with law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan, the company
said it has uncovered something far more ambitious than clandestine
workshops turning out inferior copies of NEC products.
The pirates were faking the entire company.
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and
Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what
amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50
electronics factories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as
developing their own range of consumer electronic products - everything
from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated
manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds. The Japanese
company even received complaints about products - which were of generally
good quality - that they did not make or issue warranties.
NEC said it was unable to estimate the total value of the pirated goods
from these factories, but the company believed the organizers
had "profited substantially" from the operation.
"These entities are part of a sophisticated ring, coordinated by two key
entities based in Taiwan and Japan, which has attempted to completely
assume the NEC brand," said Fujio Okada, the NEC senior vice president
and legal division general manager, in written answers to questions.
"Many of these entities are familiar with each other and cooperate with
each other to develop, manufacture and sell products utilizing the NEC
brand."
NEC declined to identify the companies for legal reasons.
Officials from branch offices of the Chinese State Administration of
Industry and Commerce in southern China confirmed that counterfeit goods
carrying the NEC brand had been seized in raids on a number of factories
and that investigations were continuing.
Some technology companies have been criticized for piecemeal and half-
hearted attempts to protect their intellectual property, but Okada said
NEC was prepared to take proactive measures to defend its brand.
NEC had not previously made public the piracy in order not to compromise
its investigation.
The Japanese company said it would continue collecting evidence to
support further criminal complaints. It was also planning to launch civil
lawsuits against some factories while negotiating with others.
Steve Vickers, president of International Risk, a Hong Kong-based company
that NEC hired to investigate the piracy, said documents and computer
records seized by the police during the factory and warehouse raids had
revealed the scope of the piracy.
These records showed that the counterfeiters carried NEC business cards,
commissioned product research and development in the company's name and
signed production and supply orders.
He said they also required factories to pay royalties for "licensed"
products and issued official-looking warranty and service documents.
Some of the factories that had been raided had erected bogus NEC signs
and hoardings and shipped products packaged in authentic looking boxes
and display cases.
NEC sai w direc F Is any Auto brand worth imitating?
In bad company: A firm's identity is stolen
By David Lague International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
BEIJING At first it seemed to be nothing more than a routine if damaging
case of counterfeiting in a country where faking it has become an
industry.
Reports filtering back to the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese
electronics giant NEC in mid-2004 alerted managers that pirated keyboards
and recordable CD and DVD discs bearing the company's brand were on sale
in retail outlets in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Like hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturers now locked in a war of
attrition with intellectual property thieves in China, the company hired
an investigator to track down the pirates.
After two years and thousands of hours of investigation in conjunction
with law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan, the company
said it has uncovered something far more ambitious than clandestine
workshops turning out inferior copies of NEC products.
The pirates were faking the entire company.
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and
Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what
amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50
electronics factories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as
developing their own range of consumer electronic products - everything
from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated
manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds. The Japanese
company even received complaints about products - which were of generally
good quality - that they did not make or issue warranties.
NEC said it was unable to estimate the total value of the pirated goods
from these factories, but the company believed the organizers
had "profited substantially" from the operation.
"These entities are part of a sophisticated ring, coordinated by two key
entities based in Taiwan and Japan, which has attempted to completely
assume the NEC brand," said Fujio Okada, the NEC senior vice president
and legal division general manager, in written answers to questions.
"Many of these entities are familiar with each other and cooperate with
each other to develop, manufacture and sell products utilizing the NEC
brand."
NEC declined to identify the companies for legal reasons.
Officials from branch offices of the Chinese State Administration of
Industry and Commerce in southern China confirmed that counterfeit goods
carrying the NEC brand had been seized in raids on a number of factories
and that investigations were continuing.
Some technology companies have been criticized for piecemeal and half-
hearted attempts to protect their intellectual property, but Okada said
NEC was prepared to take proactive measures to defend its brand.
NEC had not previously made public the piracy in order not to compromise
its investigation.
The Japanese company said it would continue collecting evidence to
support further criminal complaints. It was also planning to launch civil
lawsuits against some factories while negotiating with others.
Steve Vickers, president of International Risk, a Hong Kong-based company
that NEC hired to investigate the piracy, said documents and computer
records seized by the police during the factory and warehouse raids had
revealed the scope of the piracy.
These records showed that the counterfeiters carried NEC business cards,
commissioned product research and development in the company's name and
signed production and supply orders.
He said they also required factories to pay royalties for "licensed"
products and issued official-looking warranty and service documents.
Some of the factories that had been raided had erected bogus NEC signs
and hoardings and shipped products packaged in authentic looking boxes
and display cases.
NEC sai w direc F Is any Auto brand worth imitating?
In bad company: A firm's identity is stolen
By David Lague International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
BEIJING At first it seemed to be nothing more than a routine if damaging
case of counterfeiting in a country where faking it has become an
industry.
Reports filtering back to the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese
electronics giant NEC in mid-2004 alerted managers that pirated keyboards
and recordable CD and DVD discs bearing the company's brand were on sale
in retail outlets in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Like hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturers now locked in a war of
attrition with intellectual property thieves in China, the company hired
an investigator to track down the pirates.
After two years and thousands of hours of investigation in conjunction
with law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan, the company
said it has uncovered something far more ambitious than clandestine
workshops turning out inferior copies of NEC products.
The pirates were faking the entire company.
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and
Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what
amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50
electronics factories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as
developing their own range of consumer electronic products - everything
from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated
manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds. The Japanese
company even received complaints about products - which were of generally
good quality - that they did not make or issue warranties.
NEC said it was unable to estimate the total value of the pirated goods
from these factories, but the company believed the organizers
had "profited substantially" from the operation.
"These entities are part of a sophisticated ring, coordinated by two key
entities based in Taiwan and Japan, which has attempted to completely
assume the NEC brand," said Fujio Okada, the NEC senior vice president
and legal division general manager, in written answers to questions.
"Many of these entities are familiar with each other and cooperate with
each other to develop, manufacture and sell products utilizing the NEC
brand."
NEC declined to identify the companies for legal reasons.
Officials from branch offices of the Chinese State Administration of
Industry and Commerce in southern China confirmed that counterfeit goods
carrying the NEC brand had been seized in raids on a number of factories
and that investigations were continuing.
Some technology companies have been criticized for piecemeal and half-
hearted attempts to protect their intellectual property, but Okada said
NEC was prepared to take proactive measures to defend its brand.
NEC had not previously made public the piracy in order not to compromise
its investigation.
The Japanese company said it would continue collecting evidence to
support further criminal complaints. It was also planning to launch civil
lawsuits against some factories while negotiating with others.
Steve Vickers, president of International Risk, a Hong Kong-based company
that NEC hired to investigate the piracy, said documents and computer
records seized by the police during the factory and warehouse raids had
revealed the scope of the piracy.
These records showed that the counterfeiters carried NEC business cards,
commissioned product research and development in the company's name and
signed production and supply orders.
He said they also required factories to pay royalties for "licensed"
products and issued official-looking warranty and service documents.
Some of the factories that had been raided had erected bogus NEC signs
and hoardings and shipped products packaged in authentic looking boxes
and display cases.
NEC sai w direc F Is any Auto brand worth imitating?
In bad company: A firm's identity is stolen
By David Lague International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
BEIJING At first it seemed to be nothing more than a routine if damaging
case of counterfeiting in a country where faking it has become an
industry.
Reports filtering back to the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese
electronics giant NEC in mid-2004 alerted managers that pirated keyboards
and recordable CD and DVD discs bearing the company's brand were on sale
in retail outlets in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Like hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturers now locked in a war of
attrition with intellectual property thieves in China, the company hired
an investigator to track down the pirates.
After two years and thousands of hours of investigation in conjunction
with law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan, the company
said it has uncovered something far more ambitious than clandestine
workshops turning out inferior copies of NEC products.
The pirates were faking the entire company.
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and
Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what
amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50
electronics factories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as
developing their own range of consumer electronic products - everything
from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated
manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds. The Japanese
company even received complaints about products - which were of generally
good quality - that they did not make or issue warranties.
NEC said it was unable to estimate the total value of the pirated goods
from these factories, but the company believed the organizers
had "profited substantially" from the operation.
"These entities are part of a sophisticated ring, coordinated by two key
entities based in Taiwan and Japan, which has attempted to completely
assume the NEC brand," said Fujio Okada, the NEC senior vice president
and legal division general manager, in written answers to questions.
"Many of these entities are familiar with each other and cooperate with
each other to develop, manufacture and sell products utilizing the NEC
brand."
NEC declined to identify the companies for legal reasons.
Officials from branch offices of the Chinese State Administration of
Industry and Commerce in southern China confirmed that counterfeit goods
carrying the NEC brand had been seized in raids on a number of factories
and that investigations were continuing.
Some technology companies have been criticized for piecemeal and half-
hearted attempts to protect their intellectual property, but Okada said
NEC was prepared to take proactive measures to defend its brand.
NEC had not previously made public the piracy in order not to compromise
its investigation.
The Japanese company said it would continue collecting evidence to
support further criminal complaints. It was also planning to launch civil
lawsuits against some factories while negotiating with others.
Steve Vickers, president of International Risk, a Hong Kong-based company
that NEC hired to investigate the piracy, said documents and computer
records seized by the police during the factory and warehouse raids had
revealed the scope of the piracy.
These records showed that the counterfeiters carried NEC business cards,
commissioned product research and development in the company's name and
signed production and supply orders.
He said they also required factories to pay royalties for "licensed"
products and issued official-looking warranty and service documents.
Some of the factories that had been raided had erected bogus NEC signs
and hoardings and shipped products packaged in authentic looking boxes
and display cases.
NEC sai w direc F Is any Auto brand worth imitating?
In bad company: A firm's identity is stolen
By David Lague International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
BEIJING At first it seemed to be nothing more than a routine if damaging
case of counterfeiting in a country where faking it has become an
industry.
Reports filtering back to the Tokyo headquarters of the Japanese
electronics giant NEC in mid-2004 alerted managers that pirated keyboards
and recordable CD and DVD discs bearing the company's brand were on sale
in retail outlets in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Like hundreds, if not thousands, of manufacturers now locked in a war of
attrition with intellectual property thieves in China, the company hired
an investigator to track down the pirates.
After two years and thousands of hours of investigation in conjunction
with law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan, the company
said it has uncovered something far more ambitious than clandestine
workshops turning out inferior copies of NEC products.
The pirates were faking the entire company.
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and
Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what
amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50
electronics factories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far a
Close
A firm's identity is stolen
Started by
mych
, Apr 27 2006 10:55 PM, 2 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 27 April 2006 - 11:08 PM
Tourist
-
- Members
-
- 6,715 posts
White Lightning
Holy cow! Luckily for Proton, I don't think the pirate wanted to fake
Proton. That one of the few rare advantage of being a Proton, you get the
genuine article
Proton. That one of the few rare advantage of being a Proton, you get the
genuine article
#3
Posted 28 April 2006 - 12:59 AM
mych
-
- Members
-
- 7,789 posts
White Lightning
aiks.. turned into a Proton post pulak...
