Foreign Manufacturers Ripping Off Thai Brands

[moetownblues]

Even the boys copy the girls over here hence all the ladyboys. I just wish they'd copy some useful stuff like Marmite and Ryvitas!

Haven't the ozzies launched something called Vegemite that is a rip-off of Marmite? Ryvita is surely a rip-off of stale bread?

IMNSHO it is deliciously ironic to see the Thais raising this complaint. I'm going to smile all day to further rip them off.

Vegemite and marmite are like chalk and cheese. Marmite is disgusting and vegemite is delicious, so dam_n great that the yanks even bought the company (yes the yanks own the traditional Aussie delicacy) my Thai son can't start the day without his vegemite on toast.

[Jirapa]

Even the boys copy the girls over here hence all the ladyboys. I just wish they'd copy some useful stuff like Marmite and Ryvitas!

Haven't the ozzies launched something called Vegemite that is a rip-off of Marmite? Ryvita is surely a rip-off of stale bread?

IMNSHO it is deliciously ironic to see the Thais raising this complaint. I'm going to smile all day to further rip them off.

Yeah watch out for that! Don't tell anyone your smiling.....anyone asks tell them your "smugiling!"

Who would eat Marmite it tastes disgusting ,Aussies would never ask anyone to eat that crap.

Vegemite tastes much better.

That's why the Aussies copied/invented their own crap! Marmite rules

[Brunel]

Could this be karma?

Why would it be karma? Care to explain?

It isn't obvious .....?

[moetownblues]

:cheesy: :cheesy: sorry i couldn't help it. Please forgive me as I know this is a serious issue concerning people scamming thais.

[moetownblues]

Now I would like to see western governments applying the same land ownership, visa, and citizenship rules for Thais that we have to put up with in Thailand. "Oh! Aren't they awful! Look how badly they are treating us poor Thai citizens!"

No that would be pirating

[Jirapa]

Could this be karma?

Why would it be karma? Care to explain?

It isn't obvious .....?

Okay SergeiY let's not call it Karma.......let's say "You reap what you sew!"

[Brunel]

I'm impressed that there are Thai products some think worth copying.

Now we just need to wait and see which country countenances Thai tourists being charged double the local prices; scams of, and threats to, Thai tourist; that severely restricts or bans Thai residents from buying land. Maybe ....

[PingManDan]

Like the Thai's aren't guilty of this for just about everything -<IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif">

[Basil B]

Bet Billy Gates is laughing his cotton socks off...

Me think "kettle calling pot black", if Thailand wishes others to respect it's intellectual property rights it ought to do more than the occasional "token" raid on street vendors, like going for the big fish.

[swillowbee]

... reading the comments through the last pages, the cynicism is just dripping all over keyboard, screen, everything ... assume many/most comments are by residents here ... as an informal measure, these replies are a strong evidence that Thailand has lost its soul, if even it really had one to begin with.

... inferior cultural values perhaps explains it best.

... I, incidentally, side with the cynics here ... this sort of fetid sewage returning to the Thai shores on the incoming tide is just poetic.

[puipuitom]

So, finally Thailand gets something back of what they do to the world in every thinckable aspect !

Look to Thai industry: how many OWN patents are given out in Thailand ?

Look wherever you can, and you see it is OR coped OR imitated OR made the same OR a " me-too" product

The copy-shop is being copied ...

[jucel]

Thailand, the country of entrepreneurs???? They have invented nothing of significance to copy. If your claim to world fame is the sickly sweet red bull then as a nation you know u r not a pioneering/cutting edge society!

[spectrumisgreen]

'Foreign manufacturers ripping off Thai brands'

Now, if you just repeat this headline/sentence, immediately after the first incidence of it, the new line starting with 'but of course' and then swapping the words 'Foreign' and 'Thai' whilst also adding 'have been' before 'ripping off' .. oh yes, and sticking 'for years' on the end, then we have a slightly more balanced take, methinks!!!

Edited December 4, 2010 by spectrumisgreen

[jucel]

it's like the Somalis' complaining about a foreigner stealing a chocolate bar from one of their convenience stores,

[wooly]

Tut tut! Whatever next?

[slapout]

Could this be karma?

Why would it be karma? Care to explain?

It isn't obvious .....?

Okay SergeiY let's not call it Karma.......let's say "You reap what you sew!"

Some people/animals, you must get their undivided attention before they can comprehend what is being shown or told to them. The mule/jackass teaching method may sometimes be called for with some adults .

[james24]

lol this is classic.

Cant believe they could even run a story like this.

.

Im not sure but isnt Thai Red Bull a blatent copy of the Austrian companies Red Bull we get in the West...?

Edited December 4, 2010 by james24

[vinceentz]

Some people in this thread seem to imply that Thai copy foreign products.

This is ofcourse not true!!!

I'm quite positive that my Rollex watch, Fon Dutch T-shirt and Gutshi bag is 100% genuine, just 5000% cheaper due to deflation .

[toenail]

let me see...it is ok to sell pirated goods in Thailand as long as they are your country's own brands.

[dominique355]

I don't care about the trademark complaint since Trademark and Copyright laws are anti-competition and anti-free market. I do however care if one company tries to pretend to be another company/making a product from another company, as this is consumer fraud. And they can and should be sued by consumers and consumer protection agencies if the fraud is carried out.

Trademarks are here precisely to protect the consumer from frauds - provided the trademark rights an the laws are enforced (which is the big problem in Thailand), because a trademark is sort of a guarantee that the product bearing this trademark comes from the original manufacturer, who owns the trademark.

A competitor, who wants to sell a similar product must use a different trademark, a trademark which cannot be confused with the older trademark.

So if you want competition and a free market, you need trademarks to distinguish products and to protect the consumer.

Copyright is something different. Basically copyright protection protects works of art.

You are incorrect that Trademarks protect the customers. If you really want to dive into the area of TM's, there is several good books on the subject.

However, let me say this: If a person is selling a bag of cloned Prada design, the attached logo on the bag etc, but the sign the seller has says 'Prada copy, 500 baht', then no customer fraud has been carried out. But according to current TM laws the manufacturer, not any customers suffer fraud, is the ones getting reimbursed via a suit.

Thank you so much for your concern. After 30 years of practice in trademark law I am still interested in new books.

But you are correct, of course, the customer who knowingly buys a knock-off, is not deceived. The deception is done when someone affixes a confusingly similar trademark to a similar product and tries to take advantage of the little attention most consumers pay to the details of a product.

A real problem is when pirated products are sold without telling the consumer, such as pharmaceuticals, spare parts etc. Product piracy is a criminal offense precisely because the consumer must be able to rely on the trademark. And in this sense, trademarks do help to protect the consumer.

[Boo]

I'm seeing a lot of negative/derogatory comments regarding Thai people & Thailand & would like everyone to have a re-read of the forum rules, specifically;

8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais.

The next comment of this nature will result in the poster have a 3 days enforced break from the forum.

Thanks

[bubba]

Directorgeneral Pajchima Tanasanti said manufacturers had complained to the department about violated intellectualproperty rights (IPR) and lost income because of the infringements.

"Thai trademarks have been registered in other countries for products developed in their own markets, and foreign manufacturers have copied Thai products and registered them under the same trademarks, damaging Thai manufacturers' businesses," she said.

It could also read this way:

"[inset European or American] trademarks have been registered in other countries for products developed in their own markets, and [Thai] manufacturers have copied [inset European or American] products and registered them under the same trademarks, damaging [inset European or American] manufacturers' businesses," she said."

Ahhhh...the old double standards....

[robert00]

Oh the horror.

Billionaire is losing a tad over 100,000 dollars a year.

Better make funding cuts to the formula 1 team and sponsoring extreme sports.

No matter how much money is at stack, would you like to loose? and I think Red Bull is sponsoring so many sports,

not only F1.

[koto]

An eye for an eye. How many of you use fake Windows XP?

I see said the blind man also

Ked Dee, Tam Dee, Twaii Nai Loung, Kong Rao.

I pray that the King gets better, Gerry Rasmus aka KOTO

[dighambara]

Could this be karma?

Why would it be karma? Care to explain?

I think what he/she means is that what goes around comes around. Thais have been pirating things for years and now something of thier own is being pirated. Go to any market and you can buy Guchi for 100 baht or any of the latest DVD's even before they have been released.

Well, they do something about and law enforcement working to reduce it.

Except you are some xenophobe racist who stereotype all Thais and blame all for what a few have done there is no reason to say any Thai patent/copyright holder has lost his right to complain because of the other pirates.

People make such silly and thoughtless comments will telling for sure here other stories how and unwelcome foreigners are or that they are always get ripped off. But that is probably only a karma like payback for this ugly mindset.

All this CDs - everyone know that is a copy, but when it comes to food products like drinks and and seasoning products fake products bearing a much greater risk like the health of the costumer.

Obviously you don't do much shopping in the local stalls. When a police raid is scheduled, they are empty.

SO if the cops are looking for pirated videos - none are being sold. WHen they look for Gucci Handbags - none are being sold. A few hundred Baht to you local constable and you are always forewarned of the crackdowns...

[alstaxi]

Som Nam Na

My thoughts exactly.

[rammis35]

<br />

<br />In the land of counterfeit everything, it's nice to see one of the bigger fish getting a fin eaten off by someone else. Turnabhout's fair play, karma, plaenty of ways to see this. One benefit is that this big fish, might instigate a stronger anti-counterfeiting pcuh with the powers that be, just because of this.<br />... nah. TIT.<br />

<br /><br />Racist and their stereotypes are out in full force. Always the same members can be seen with their little arrogant rants about Thailand.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Seergeiy, where do you go shopping? I have been to the street markets to the up scale market in Bangkok and everywhere you look there are counterfeit everything. Almost everything in the street market are counterfeit, not as much in the up scale markets but it is still there in the open and easy to see. Maybe you should take off your blinders and see what is going on in Thailand and then you will see why everyone think it is funny 2 companies from Thailand are complaining about their stuff being counterfeit when they see thousands of companies being counterfeited here every day. It's not racism it is form what is seen all over Thailand every day.

[suranya63]

build a bridge sergei y

[looping]

They should be flattered, as their culture is full of flattery and they are the biggest flatterers around. Indeed they always practice the highest form of flattery (No please, not a 3 day ban, I'm being nice!)

[ericthai]

You have to wonder who the real villains are? The brand names producing overpriced products many of which are produced by poorly paid workers or the little sweat shops producing the same products at a fraction of the price. Especially T-shirts where there is absolutely no difference in quality but you'd buy in the UK for 70-90 quid or in Bangkok for 200 Baht or less. Same T, same ink, same silly design and the percentage of the sale price that goes to the workers and production process is far greater than that of the original version! Make affordable products and your much less likely to suffer from replica retail.

Food and drinks on the other hand is a different story as the manufacturing process of a small scale reproduction outfit is probably more expensive than it is for the original manufacturer due to sheer size (bulk buying of ingredients etc..., labor costs must be about the same) and copies can't be sold for more than the original. Obviously there's a bit of money in it by cutting out the middle man but 100000 USD for lost sales to Red Bull is hardly a goldmine!

You are missing something here. One of the big reasons why a company like say Nike, sells there product for so much more than what a copy can sell for, is the copy is not paying for all the marketing and adverting but is reaping the rewards of this. You fail to realize the amount of money these large companies spend on prompting their brands. Paying sports figures millions of dollars a year to promote and wear their products. This is one of the reasons for the big brands having to sell their products at such a high price. Im not saying they aren't making nice profits, but just looking at the manufacturing cost is not being realist.

Also most of the retail stores have a mark up of anywhere between 30-60%. I sell my products to Tesco for 100 baht they are selling it for 150 baht. So selling a copy on the street they already reduced the price by a good margin and then only have the actual production cost and not all of the overhead.