Posted on : 2022-12-09 02:48:41
Article : Good evening, Friday Management TASK 220- while purchasing a counterfeit product it is the brand but not the product that comes into consumer mind. Counterfeit is mainly the result of consumer drive with aspiration for low cost look alike brand availability.
In present day global marketing scenario brand marketers are more active in expanding market
space either with innovative product/brands or me-too product brands fueled by the technology
advancement to manufacture and market the goods in bulk with low investment, low cost and high
returns giving an opportunity for brand infringement.
To stand legal point, Trademark is essential for every brand manufacturer to protect their Brand and its activities from any sort of infringement in every country of their manufacture and marketing. Currently there are more than 75 million active trade marks that are into business. Almost 80% of brand trademarks face infringement in one form or other as the trademarks can be for products, services, magazines, websites or domains. Mainly it is consumer aspiration and demand that drives counterfeiting as the low price and original replicas are the main factors of attraction for majority of consumers. Here it is the brand but not the product that comes into consumer mind while purchasing a counterfeit product.
Brand protection system should evolve from the brand manufacturing house since their brand reputation will be at stake due to counterfeiting/infringement. Herein the cost and time are too high and long to fight an infringement case. In this Management TASK part we discuss few brands that suffered brand infringement.
Starbucks with more than $12.2 bn sales has suffered in China as one Shanghai coffee house opened number of copycat locations using the Xingbake a clever knock of the Starbucks name. In Pinyin “xing” means star, and “bake,” pronounced bah-kuh, sounds like bucks. Thus, the coffee house name replicated the Starbucks brand name using a combination of Chinese characters and sound.
Similarly Unilevers PONDS was seen sold high volumes in Iraq as made in Paris which in fact is not a manufacturing location for them.
Apple also had brand infringement experience in Kunming of China where the décor and staff mimicked of Apple store and even the working staff believed that they are working with Apple. After launching an investigation, Chinese authorities eventually found 22 of these unauthorized stores. A local electronics goods distributor has registered Apple in China with lookalike logo letters and meaning in Chinese language.
Louis vuitton manufacturer and designer of high end hand Bags and luggage was imitated by a comedy fashion company Haute Digguty Dog once again in China. The comedy designers had released a line of parody products named Chewy Vuitton, to go along with memorable knock offs such as Chewnel No5 and Sniffany &co.
These are very few but reputed brands to mention about. Coming out of this infringement menace is a tough task but the referred companies could come out of the situation and now are under Trade mark (IP) protected zone selling in markets.
Please comment how the above brand marketers could come out of copycats’ market situation before we post of our perceptive solution on Monday 12th Dec 2022.
Log on to www.wingsofmanagement.com to know more about our “Strategy Management consultancy’s” versatile capabilities, global clients and to read our weekly posts and our projects.