Owners of prestigious brand fight piracy
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-01 10:01
Nineteen owners of famous international brands have banded together to fight
piracy in wholesale and retail markets in four major Chinese cities by forcing
market managers to regulate stall owners.
The companies, including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Puma
and Gucci, have hired law firm Baker & Mckenzie to manage the campaign in
Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Staff members from the law firm will visit wholesale and retail markets in
the four cities acting as ordinary customers.
If they find any fake products, they will inform market authorities and
demand action is taken. If counterfeit products are found a second time, the law
firm will complain to the local industrial and commercial administrative bureau
and take further legal action.
"The move will involve market authorities in brand protection. Since there
are so many counterfeit sellers, we want to enhance brand infringement control
and prevention through monitoring and communicating with market owners," the law
firm said in a statement. "Market authorities should play a key role in brand
protection. If violations are detected, market authorities can break the rental
contact and push the violator out of the market."
The law firm noted that a Beijing court recently ruled the Xiushui Market
should take some responsibility for counterfeit sales as it failed to regulate
vendors despite promising no fake products would be sold in the market.
Officials with the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau
support the campaign.
"We accept any reports on brand violation, either from companies or
citizens," said Zhou Shuguang of the bureau's information department.
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