- 9/9/18
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Ok, it's a personal point of view, but I see some strange comments here, I'd like to enlighten all this stuff. Your comments are welcome.
Replica world: it's basically a non-profit or small-profit activity, non-organized (there is no real godfather), run by lonely watch enthusiasts who love discontinued & vintage watches, who sell expensive watches to watch enthusiasts who can't afford even more expensive gen ones or just have a bossy wife, or both
Fake world: it's an international organized for-profit activity, run by professional dealers who sell cheap modern counterfeits goods around the world to regular Joes and tourists
* * *
Basically, some brands could be Ok with replicas because it’s just about discontinued products. Ferrari tolerates that some dudes make replicas of vintage 365 GTS using the exact shape of this model and the word Ferrari and the logo. Porsche is now ok with replicas, but they still protect their trademark (logo+name). So you can make a new 356 from scratch, but you shall not use their logo. btw, in most countries, you can't protect brevets or a shape forever, but you can protect your trademark as long as you use it. You can also protect your right to face fair competitors. Fender and Gisbon are not really ok with replicas, because they don't have discontinued products: they sell the same guitars since the 50's, but they gave-up on protecting the shape of their main models. In many countries Fender and Gibson had a dominant position that could be a distortion of competition, they lost many cases regarding "heritage" guitars. Of course, they protect their trademark. Piaggio gave-up on protecting the shape of its discontinued Vespa from the 50's, but still protects their trademark. Rolex does not like replicas, in many countries they sue people who make "heritage" watches of modern products when the replica is too close of the gen, but they could be Ok for "heritage" watches of discontinued products. They even sue non official dealers/watchmakers who use the logo Rolex on their store or if they just fart near a Rolex.
Conclusion: brands don't really like replicas when they are the result of anti-competitive practices, but they can tolerate them a little bit, as a famous singer could tolerate a "look-alike" singer, because a copycat singer just embarrasses people at weddings and he’s not a real competitor. No brand is Ok with fake products.
Replica world: it's basically a non-profit or small-profit activity, non-organized (there is no real godfather), run by lonely watch enthusiasts who love discontinued & vintage watches, who sell expensive watches to watch enthusiasts who can't afford even more expensive gen ones or just have a bossy wife, or both
Fake world: it's an international organized for-profit activity, run by professional dealers who sell cheap modern counterfeits goods around the world to regular Joes and tourists
* * *
Basically, some brands could be Ok with replicas because it’s just about discontinued products. Ferrari tolerates that some dudes make replicas of vintage 365 GTS using the exact shape of this model and the word Ferrari and the logo. Porsche is now ok with replicas, but they still protect their trademark (logo+name). So you can make a new 356 from scratch, but you shall not use their logo. btw, in most countries, you can't protect brevets or a shape forever, but you can protect your trademark as long as you use it. You can also protect your right to face fair competitors. Fender and Gisbon are not really ok with replicas, because they don't have discontinued products: they sell the same guitars since the 50's, but they gave-up on protecting the shape of their main models. In many countries Fender and Gibson had a dominant position that could be a distortion of competition, they lost many cases regarding "heritage" guitars. Of course, they protect their trademark. Piaggio gave-up on protecting the shape of its discontinued Vespa from the 50's, but still protects their trademark. Rolex does not like replicas, in many countries they sue people who make "heritage" watches of modern products when the replica is too close of the gen, but they could be Ok for "heritage" watches of discontinued products. They even sue non official dealers/watchmakers who use the logo Rolex on their store or if they just fart near a Rolex.
Conclusion: brands don't really like replicas when they are the result of anti-competitive practices, but they can tolerate them a little bit, as a famous singer could tolerate a "look-alike" singer, because a copycat singer just embarrasses people at weddings and he’s not a real competitor. No brand is Ok with fake products.
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