Counterfeiting an Entire Company
We’ve talked about counterfeit money, counterfeit concert tickets, counterfeit police credentials, and counterfeit police departments. Here’s a story about a counterfeit company:
Evidence seized in raids on 18 factories and warehouses in China and Taiwan over the past year showed that the counterfeiters had set up what amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50 electronics factories in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the name of NEC, the pirates copied NEC products, and went as far as developing their own range of consumer electronic products – everything from home entertainment centers to MP3 players. They also coordinated manufacturing and distribution, collecting all the proceeds.
Unixronin • May 1, 2006 8:30 AM
I suppose you could consider this corporate identity theft. Though really what they’re stealing isn’t so much the identity, as the brand recognition.
They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ….