China continues to rule counterfeit world as market for fake goods keeps growing
MANILA, Philippines—The world recently observed World Intellectual Property Day, but a dark scenario remains: The market for counterfeit goods continues to thrive—with China still being the top distributor of fake shoes, clothing, electronics, and other goods.
Counterfeiting, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is an infringement of the legal rights of an owner of intellectual property.
ADVERTISEMENT
Based on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)—the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property—counterfeit trademark goods refer to:
“Any goods, including packaging, bearing without authorization a trademark which is identical to the trademark validly registered in respect of such goods, or which cannot be distinguished in its essential aspects from such a trademark, and which thereby infringes the rights of the owner of the trademark in question under the law of the country of importation.”
Meanwhile, pirated goods refer to “any goods which are copies made without the consent of the right holder or person duly authorized by the right holder in the country of production and which are made directly or indirectly from an article where the making of that copy would have constituted an infringement of a copyright or a related right under the law of the country of importation.”
Trading counterfeit and pirated goods are considered illegal and are against international intellectual property laws.
