Chinese Authorities Crack Down on Product Piracy

For at least five years, Hunan Magic Power Industrialofficial in charge of Intellectual Property Rights
Corporation in China illegally sold its industrial adhesivesprotection acknowledges the government faces a
under the label of the U.S. company, ABRO Industries.long-term challenge. "Many Chinese companies believe
The cheap knock offs cost ABRO millions of dollars init's a crime to steal things from others but it's not a
sales -- and job losses for its suppliers. The case iscrime to steal the brands and innovations of others.
one example of the serious consequences of piracyWe must educate them and tell them that it is as
and the openness with which Chinese counterfeitersmuch of a crime to steal objects as it is to violate
are working. In this third of a series of reports, Luisintellectual property rights by copying them."
Ramirez reports from Beijing that there are effortsThat may be easier said than done. Piracy is a big
within the national leadership to stop product piracy.industry here, and even the highly regulated Olympic
It is a scene that has become a cliché in China.trademark is illegally copied and sold openly on the
The Beijing government shows off its anti-piracystreets of Beijing.
efforts to foreign reporters.State-owned stores are not setting any examples.
In the ABRO piracy case, those efforts may haveOne sells copies of Hollywood's latest releases for
worked. Under pressure, the Hunan Magic Powerabout $2. U.S. officials estimate 95 percent of all CD's
Industrial Company in China's Hunan province says itand DVD's produced in China are counterfeit.
has stopped making fake ABRO products.A crackdown would hurt businesses that peddle fake
The company declined interview requests but aU.S. designer clothing. Analysts say enforcement is
company source told VOA off-camera that authoritieslikely to remain uneven at best.
forced the firm in April to obey Chinese trademarkAside from economic considerations, Huang says
laws and stop using the ABRO name.officials have issues like poor coordination and
However, using Magic Power's own brand has hurtcorruption to contend with. But, he also says China is
sales. The source says most buyers want a brandbeing unfairly criticized. "Intellectual property rights
they can recognize.infringement does exist in Chinese companies. This
This is why ABRO president Peter Baranay remainssituation does not only exist in China, but also in other
skeptical that Hunan Magic Power will stopcountries around the world."
counterfeiting ABRO products. "I doubt they will do it.China is indeed not alone in pirating American designer
It's been too good of a deal for them. They've had tooshirts and other products. Russia, Argentina, Egypt,
good of a run. They're not going to stop it now."Lebanon, Thailand, and Venezuela are among the top
Even if Magic Power does stop, there is no guarantee10 of a list of copyright violators that U.S. officials are
others will not start copying ABRO's products againkeeping an eye on. But with 68 percent of all
the moment the spotlight is turned away.counterfeit products seized at U.S. ports coming from
At China's Ministry of Commerce, Huang Hai, theChina, Beijing is the number one offender.