Well, apparently, Apple was able to convince the government to shut down several of the counterfeit stores in China. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the counterfeiters were very thorough--they even copied the employees' uniforms and name badges. That is detail-oriented at its finest! In the city of Kunming (southwest), there were around 24 fake stores. Incredible. What is even more incredible is that a company like Apple waited until 2008 to put together an anti-counterfeiting team and plan. Apple did not even register its trademarks in China until this new anti-counterfeiting team was put together.
China, which manufactures many (if not most) of Apple's products, produces enough fake Apple products to supply the entire world. China is also one of the biggest markets for Apple's products. Given this rampant counterfeiting, it is incredible that Apple would wait so long to protect their rights and try to stem the tide of fake products and stores in China. Remember, this is the same Apple company that has relentlessly pursued Samsung over its tablet patents all over the world.
It simply does not make sense for a company like Apple or one which has products made in China (a known piracy and counterfeiting hub) to take precautions to protect its brand or intellectual property. A glutton of poorly made knock-offs could irreparably harm a company's reputation. Even a small business should look to protect its intellectual property at home. You don't have to be a huge, multinational corporation before you start thinking about protecting your property. As part of any business plan, you should think about any potential intellectual property rights which your business may own or develop and devise a plan to protect that property. You should regularly revisit and revise the plan as your business grows or changes.
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