US Embassy Bangkok Complained Over Lady Gaga's Fake Rolex Tweet

[GeorgeO]

They are still complaining about this, why does Thailand think the world visit this country for, Of course for the cheap fake products, the world already knows about the fake products, but as other postes already said "The government does nothing about it" so why do they care, they say it hurts the countries image, sure it does, but it dont seem to get them off their butt to do anything about it, Gosh, I mean look she said things about china, and japan and their just go along with it, cause they know its true as the world alreadfy knows it too, why does Thailand have to be so hard assed about it

Thailand does nothing but make itself look even more stupid when there are so many real problems in the country, and all it can do is latch on to some silly little side issue like this!

BTW, "US Embassy Complained over Lady Gaga's Fake Rolex Tweet". I am not aware of the US Embassy complaining about anything. Can the authors of these stories not provide an appropriate heading for them?

[nikster]

This is just hilarious. Every single main road of every single tourist destination is full of copies that being a watch or a polo-shirt.

Is there anywhere in Thailand where you can purchase original products?

IF you find a place that sells 'authentic products'..... I would recommend CAUTION........

Please - just go to where the Thai HiSo shops and you don't have to be an expert. Siam Paragon will have all the real product you want, from a Rolex to a Ferrari.

As for quality, I learned there's absolutely different quality fakes and the high quality ones are hard to distinguish from the real product _and_ surprisingly expensive. A high end fake Rolex is more expensive than a normal non-fake Seiko or something.... Example in the CM night market you have a choice of BHT 2,000+ higher end copies from Korea or the super cheap obviously fake stuff from China. I don't think they have the really good copies though, certainly not on display.

Also at the night market is a shop that looks like an official Tod's outlet (or used to) - they have Tod's and a bunch of other high end bag / shoe / leather brands. My Thai wife wouldn't be caught dead buying this because it's still fake - but an older European friend of ours who is an avid collector of lady bags back home went shopping there and told me she couldn't tell the difference. She thought these were a great deal - being European, she doesn't care so much about brand name image, quality is all that matters to her. These high quality fakes are right up there. They're not cheap either - BHT 3,000 - 6,000.

LOL at the Thai Govt - yeah and why not show the whole world what kind of backwards hypocrites you are, not doing squat about fakes on the street but complaining when somebody talks about it.

Edited May 28, 2012 by nikster

[stickyrice2000]

I stick with the fake one like Lady Gaga. (LOL)

[jaltsc]

I am sure the US Embassy is working overtime as we speak to undo the truth damage done to Thailand.

Anybody know what kind of watch Gaga wears? Any idea if she got a fake Rolex?

The reason the embassy is working overtime is that their "authentic" Rolex watches, purchased in Thailand, are running an hour slow.

[R10wota]

It is not that she actually bought the fake Rolex, She said she might buy it.... what is the big deal about it. I am sure there will be a Pirated DVD of her concert or her CD's. It is better to act on and have a CRACK DOWN on these pirated stuffs and stop caring for the image first. It would be fine to be offended if the gov was at least trying to reduce the amount of pirated goods.

[pmarlin]

This is just hilarious. Every single main road of every single tourist destination is full of copies that being a watch or a polo-shirt.

Is there anywhere in Thailand where you can purchase original products?

Yes several places but you will pay more for it than it cost or worth. No bargins here for orginal products.

[jalansanitwong]

The Thai gov is convinced that millions of tourists come here to visit its famous national parks, 2m wide beaches with plastic bottles floating around and marvel at the temples.

Nothing to do with fake products ,prostitution and issan wife buying/swapping as they are highly illegal enterprises and subject to daily crackdowns.

Any mention of fake rolex watches is ablight on this countries esteemed reputation.

Edited May 29, 2012 by jalansanitwong

[pakorn7]

Doesn't Thailand have bigger issues than anything Lady Gaga has to say or tweet? Who gives a tweet what she tweets?

Killing time during half-time break.

2nd half of RED vs YELLOW match will kick off this weekend.

Look like the RED has put in the substitute Sonthi. This will be interesting (Sondhi vs Sonthi) for the commentator.

[TheWalkingMan]

There are plenty of stores in Thailand that sale real Rolexs and Omegas but the majority of people posting here cannot aford them

I think you should have said that the majority of people in the world cannot afford them.

[animatic]

quote name='Genericnic' timestamp='1338221592' post='5340547'

I gave up wearing a watch the day I retired.

David

I gave up wearing watches when the first cell phones came out with clocks built in.

The funny thing is that I have several real Rolex's sitting in a jewelery box that I don't wear. I've gotten to the point where I dislike wear

When she returns to the U.S Obama should put her over his knee and smack her bottom for just suggesting that there are pirated goods in Thailand.

Pictures please !

It is there for you.

[media=]

[/media]

Oh the irony. The residence of the capital of knock offs and rip offs openly posting copyrighted material on the Internet. Let's see how long these videos last before LG's people yank Googles chain to have them removed.

Free advertising to get people to pay to see it live.

[animatic]

The irony is: Rolex is not even Americans.

neither is Lady Gaga..

Yes, she is.

[NomadJoe]

Bet you that you can buy pirated Lady Gaga CDs.

I have no doubt that embarrassing the Thai government due to their policy of complete non-enforcement of copyright and patent infringement was the point of her tweet. The resulting firestorm went exactly as she planned. She is loving the press that fake and pirated goods in Thailand is getting because of this. Well played m'lady, well played.

[sunanta]

The irony is: Rolex is not even Americans.

Neither are the ladies for sale at the market....SLAP a Rolex on your wrist, a Hooker on the ass, an a Brit in the mouth..... 50 bucks well spent.......

[Ponbkk]

The fake rolex watch thing is about as dumb a joke as buying real Spanish Fly in Tijuana in who could be so stupid as to really think it is a Rolex and this scam on stupid tourists really doesn't represent the general trademark issue at all.

[dominique355]

A typical case of shooting the messenger if the message is not good.

Who allows the sale of fake Rolexes, the Thai Government of Lady Gaga?

Buying a fake Rolex is not an infringement of any intellectual property rights. Selling it, however, is.

Buying a fake Rolex is not tarnishing a country's reputation, allowing them to be sold, however, is.

Message to the Thai Government: When you are in a glass house, don't throw stones!

[Ferangled]

US Embassy complained over Lady Gaga's fake Rolex tweet

Really? The US Embassy has complained about Lady Gaga's Rolex tweet?! What is it with all these poorly constructed and factually incorrect headlines? You'd think journalists would have to be more careful given the ease at which defamation and libel cases can pursued in Thailand....

Reading on it becomes clear that the US Embassy have complained to no one and it's actually a Thai Government ministry that's doing the complaining... "The Commerce Ministry's Intellectual Property Department has officially expressed its disappointment on her tweet to the US Embassy"...

Sadly the use of English is still terribly misleading and it actually reads that Lady Gaga directed her tweet to the US Embassy... one thing is clear and that is Thailand may be a hub of many things but is certainly no hub of English proficiency!

Edited May 29, 2012 by Ferangled

[Buchholz]

SLAP a Rolex on your wrist, a Hooker on the ass, an a Brit in the mouth..... 50 bucks well spent.......

TAT's new 2013 tourism campaign slogan

.

[Thaddeus]

... I am unaware that the US Embassy chose to offer any sort of reply ... if not, their silence is deafening.

Typing sensibly can be quite difficult when you are busy laughing your balls off.

That could explain some of the headlines you get in The Nation.

[Thaddeus]

SLAP a Rolex on your wrist, a Hooker on the ass, an a Brit in the mouth..... 50 bucks well spent.......

TAT's new 2013 tourism campaign slogan

.

And American Express maybe.

[fstarbkk]

The moral of the story: To do bad, illegal and unethical things in Thailand is fine. To talk about bad, illegal and unethical things being done here, is NOT! What's wrong with this picture?

[gand]

Right, cuz like nobody knew, until Lady Gaga tweeted it. It is and has been in the public domain for decades.

[mrdome]

Bla bla bla... those being oh so "disappointed" will eventually get over it, one has to assume and move on to actually enforcing the rules.

[Credo]

... I am unaware that the US Embassy chose to offer any sort of reply ... if not, their silence is deafening.

I am sure that the silence is because as we speak the issue has been passed on to the Department of State, which is in all-night discussions with the White House trying desperately to formulate a diplomatic response.

[billd766]

I buy real Rolex only, not in Thailand, but in Switzerland, where Rolex is made.

Big deal! Where it in Thailand and everyone will assume it's a fake!

Or try and steal it. I only bring TAGs to SE Asia, Eastern Europe and Central America. Too much attention nit good except Daytonna with leather band may go unnoticed there.

I gave up wearing a watch the day I retired.

David

I took mine off 3 years ago and put it somewhere but I have no idea where. The battery is probably flat by now and no it wasn't a fake anything just a cheapo for about 500 baht I think.

[Crushdepth]

Thailand has demonstrated serious attempts to suppress IPR violations for a long time.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[Nisa]

Between this thread and the other there are over 500 comments on this issue ... interesting how so many are saying Thais are ignorantly making a big deal out of this.

[KeyserSoze01]

... I am unaware that the US Embassy chose to offer any sort of reply ... if not, their silence is deafening.

I am sure that the silence is because as we speak the issue has been passed on to the Department of State, which is in all-night discussions with the White House trying desperately to formulate a diplomatic response.

Yeah, I bet Hillary is laughing her ass off too.

[rubl]

^ #136

FREE SPEECH?

I thought that was only for Corporations who could afford to pay for it ?

maybe you've been hanging around in Thai forums too long where we don't have the freedom to say what we want but I can assure you that in the USA we can say what we want without fears of upsetting the government and having our posts deleted to save face.

And I just told a friend a few days ago I wasn't into American bashing

"Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. The freedom is not absolute; the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are excluded from the freedom of speech, and it has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech.

Criticism of the government and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy are almost always permitted. There are exceptions to these general protections, including the Miller test for obscenity, child pornography laws, speech that incites imminent lawless action, and regulation of commercial speech such as advertising. Within these limited areas, other limitations on free speech balance rights to free speech and other rights, such as rights for authors and inventors over their works and discoveries (copyright and patent), protection from imminent or potential violence against particular persons (restrictions on fighting words), or the use of untruths to harm others (slander). Distinctions are often made between speech and other acts which may have symbolic significance.

Despite the exceptions, the legal protections of the First Amendment are some of the broadest of any industrialized nation, and remain a critical, and occasionally controversial, component of American jurisprudence."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States

There are some opposing views of course

http://americancensorship.org/

http://openinternet.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Is-An-Open-Internet-is-Essential-for-America-For-Free-Speech/26618-6017

http://www.wnd.com/2009/04/96301/

To conclude "we have the right to arm bears and furthermore Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" I think

[Jayman]

^^^^^^

I have no idea what your point is here.

The tweet LG made broke NO US laws and as such there is no legal action the US Government can or would take to get her to retract her statement.

As I started prior, if The Thai Government feels she has violated there laws then it's within their power to put her on the black list so she is no longer allowed into the country. As for them telling the US Embassy that they are displeased, they are all bark and no bite and as such no one would even take the complaint seriously.

It is completely in their hands to take action on LG if they feel she has done wrong by the country of Thailand. Complaining to the US Embassy just looks very childish indeed.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Jayman

[gand]

Probably to much Amstel, Heineken and Grolsch, not necessarily in that order.