Swiss President Gives Thaksin A Ticking Off

[george]

Swiss president gives PM a ticking off over fake watches

Rolex exec included in visiting delegation

BANGKOK: Counterfeit designer watches was a hot topic for discussion yesterday when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra held talks with visiting Swiss President Joseph Deiss, who was accompanied on his trip by a Rolex executive.

Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said Mr Deiss expressed concern over intellectual property rights, particularly on Swiss watches, during his meeting with Mr Thaksin.

The Rolex executive had reportedly seen many fake watches for sale both in Bangkok and Pattaya.

Commerce Minister Watana Muangsook assured the executive a crackdown was currently under way, Mr Jakrapob said.

Rolex carries a proclamation at its website stating ``all intellectual property rights, such as trade marks, service marks, trade names, designs and copyrights, are reserved''.

Mr Thaksin later announced the government intended to complete negotiations on a deal with the Europe Free-Trade Association (EFTA) before year-end, when Mr Deiss was due to end his tenure as Swiss president.

Comprising Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, Mr Deiss also currently held the EFTA presidency.

Mr Deiss said a free-trade agreement would be signed in the coming months.

Mr Jakrapob said the negotiations would cover topics including the liberalisation of the banking system, and joint ventures between local and Swiss companies.

Mr Deiss was scheduled to be granted an audience with His Majesty the King today.

--The Post 2004-03-19

[wombat]

Its time for change

[taxexile]

Swiss president gives PM a ticking off over fake watches

i think he was just winding him up.

[PvtDick]

...actually, just "shaking" him up in the case of Rolexes (which aren't wound).

[tuky]

...actually, just "shaking" him up in the case of Rolexes (which aren't wound).

They need to be shaken everyday otherwise they stop

[Guest timbee]

and if you happen to own a benz or a beemer, you'll know they each need a good kick

[Guest timbee]

i know this because i frequently see the owners of these brands of vehicle kicking theirs by the side of the roads, where they appear to get stuck a lot

[davethailand]

he got a ticking off then

does he really think thai's give a shit about copyrighting

[PvtDick]

They do when someone dangles either a carrot or a stick in front of their face.

[britmaveric]

Makes me laff- knockoffs are a part of everyday life. People buy them for a laff, and obviously they aren't quality. Let the poor bastards make a few baht - this doesn't affect anyone purchasing real name brand products.

[Dove]

If your product ain't good nobody is going to make a pirated product so what the hack, it is free advertising. Why victimize the poor who are sponsoring the adverts?

[PvtDick]

The previous two posters have obviously never created anything original or commercially viable in their lives -- or they'd think otherwise.

[britmaveric]

PvtDick- Wrong infact I develop software! The purest form of flattery is imitation.

Face it, is the average person going to buy a 15000 quid rolex? I think not, so in my eyes Rolex isn't losing any dosh and it isn't affecting their sales in the least.

[PvtDick]

And you feel the same way when someone rips off your software? "Gee, that's so flattering! I'm overwhelmed!"

[britmaveric]

I'm a realist- it's inevitable! Software, music, film piracy is not going to stop because I don't like it. Why worry about something you have no control of?

[englishoak]

I'm all for imitations, so you know they are cheap and mabe not so good, but they don't cost a ridiculous amount of money and in a lot of cases the copies are just as hard wearing as the brand names.

Probably made in a similar cheap factory in china too but with less profits

[Dove]

Ever wondered why nobody ever bothered to make copies of copy of cheap watches?

Ever wondered why Private Detectives and lawyers hang around like pilot fish around manufacturers of Branded products?

Ever wondered how much it cost to advertise on a full page of a newspaper against the free advert a company gets when it appears on the front page of a newspaper reporting that they had complained to a Prime Minister of another country for allowing the sale of imitations of their goods. Is the free press being manipulated and exploited by the marketing schemes of branded companies? Should the press still consider publishing commercial stories of branded products being pirated free of charge?

Are richer countries exploiting poor countries by copyrighting? Are richer countries deprieving poorer countires from learning new soft skills by copyrighting.

Microsoft has to thank the pirates, if not for the pirates there would not have been so many users who are experts in the use of Microsoft's products in poorer countries in the world.

Let's be realistic, if we were to make Rolexes in China we would have ###### cheap Rolex watches and with good QC, just as good. Slogans have to be changed from "Made with Expensive Swiss Precision Engineering" to "Made by Cheap Chinese precision engineering" This is possible as the cost of labour in China which is related to the cost of living is low. A good example are handphones made in China.

I even wonder why we often become victims of Marketing when we buy expensive shoes or clothes when we often know that these goods are made in 3rd world countries at a small fraction of the price but priced highly by opportunist marketing companies who brand these products and protect the goods with their trademark.

I think that if the world got cleverer and stop buying branded products many of today's top branded companies along with their lawyers and private detectives would go bankrupt.

Anyway, I don't buy Rolexes because I can't get to change my watch when I get tired at looking at it because it is too expensive. Call me cheap -so what. How many people have the opportunity to change a watch every 3 months. I won't waste my money on one either.

Lastly, in the East, beware of the man who approaches you to do business with a branded watch on his wrist and a branded pen in his pocket because he could be a con-man. Although not that all of them are.

[britmaveric]

Rolex's are over rated - TAGS are much better or even a Omegas for a fraction of the price that Rolex charges.

[Guest IT Manager]

Swiss president gives PM a ticking off over fake watches

i think he was just winding him up.

I'm surprised that took so long. Should have been automatic.

[Guest IT Manager]

Rolex's are over rated - TAGS are much better or even a Omegas for a fraction of the price that Rolex charges.

Why do fake Tags cost 1200 baht and fake Rolex 800. I think Maveric is correct.