China start copying your hard work!!

[slats]

I second the early posts.

I second the early posts. Mark it made in the US etc. I for one do want to see the Intellictual Property of all our reputable vendors protected. Without our vendors supported, there is little incentive for product development and that's bad big time for the hobby. I think as a body the Subcommittee vendor page needs a header to state that the vendors listed are reputable licence dealers / manufacturers. We need to support these guys and make newbees aware that illegal copies are not supported by our organisation.

John.
Thanks
John



Edited By Slats on 1101681687

[jeffrey j]

Marc, well said, it seems

Marc, well said, it seems to be the standard in China for them to copy whatever they want including the brand name and re-sell the product even using the original vendors name, electronics, golf clubs, etc.,,,you name it. And who keeps buying their products? We do... Just check out any Wally World,,, ok, sorry ,, I will get back to subs now. Jeff Jones

["horridoh"]

]

[color=#008080]]

[Guest]

Okay, a few opinions of

Okay, a few opinions of my own.

1. Rascals exist in all countries. I've seen and heard of knock-off's in America and the UK, perhaps China is worse owing to lack of regulation, I don't know. Whatever the case, I don't think legal action or blocking will achieve anything.
All the same, I acknowledge it's a diabolical thing to do.

2. If you are making a product that is fairly easy to replicate, and there is a ready market for it, someone will likely copy it or make a variation of it, and flog it for less.

I saw this happen first hand, when I was an apprentice working for a company that manufactured medium voltage (22kv) vacuum switchgear.

We held the market for over 20 years, as we invented the concept of a vacuum breaker, and ours was considered the best product on the market.
We made a good quality item, but the manufacturing methods were old fashioned and hence expensive. The Japanese came along with a design that was stamped out using state of the art production techniques. Result? A unit half the price of ours, and our company put out of business within a few short months!
If the Chinese are willing to work for a lot less, and then sell the product for less, then that's just badluck on the guys who are selling for more.

3. If you want to stay ahead of the game, innovate. If someone copies your product, build a more sophisticated one- people like quality. The German car companies realised this years ago, the British car companies didn't- end result the British car industry is now owned (largely) by Germany- ha!

In the end, I don't think these guys will threaten the current market, after all, if in fact they are dishonest enough to sell someone elses work, the perhaps they are dishonest enough to disappear with your money!

Andy

[seaphoto]

If someone copies your product,

If someone copies your product, build a more sophisticated one- people like quality.

Respectfully, that is wrong Andy. When you are dealing with works of art, such as submarine kits, that come from hand produced master patterns that take many hours of research and labor to produce, someone pulling a copy is both morally bankrupt and against the law.

If you mean producing a similar product, then of course that is just the free market in action, which is fair. Anyone who has the talent to produce a good product has every right to do so. If Ark Models is indeed creating new patterns, they are a welcome addition to the model community. If they are not, then modelers with a shred of decency should not do business with them. Certainly, Matt's post has shed some doubt on thier veracity with regards to his line, but I would reserve judgement in case they are able to document the construction of masters for their other kits.

Many people however, including some in this country, want to get into business using shortcuts instead of hard work. When I discover an instance of that in my corner of the model world, it is dealt with swiftly. I won't tolerate copyright infringement, and I would hope the SubCommittee would take a similar posistion toward any company that can be proved to engage in this dishonorable practice.

Cordially,

Kurt

[slats]

Well said



Edited By Slats on

Well said



Edited By Slats on 1101852073

[gunter]

This is a worldwide problem

This is a worldwide problem and from what I understand, China has passed laws that allow and protect their industries that do this. One motorcycle company has produced an exact replica of a popular Japanese model. Another is producing copies of Briggs & Stratton engines that even the parts will interchange between them. So nothing is safe.