Before the computers were as advanced, as they are today,
the merchants of China used to sell their Copyright Infringed goods on the
streets and markets out in the open. They took no precaution to hide from the
public, and the authorities knew of their presence. The goods sold were DVDs,
books, CDs, and many more kinds of goods. Many of the products sold also had
company logos, sold along with the replica of the original product produced by
that company as well. A Luis Vuitton bag would be a perfect example of this,
where the merchants have not only infringed upon the design of the bag, but
also the patent of the company logo as well.
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| Baidu is the Google of China. |
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| Chinese man selling fake Copyrighted DVDs on the street. |
Now with the advancement in technology, the market space has
changed for those who wish to profit from copyright infringement works. In the
twenty-first century, we don’t see as many merchants as we used to see back in
the 80s or 90s. The Internet has made it possible for these individuals to
hide, able to profit from the infringement works that they sell online. Baidu,
which is the Chinese equivalent of Google, has links to many third party
websites that offer these goods online. This means that for a Chinese citizen,
it wouldn’t be difficult for them to find these goods online at all.
What is interesting to note is that the Chinese government
gained revenue from Baidu’s profit, cashing in on the sales made online for the
copyright infringed works. This means that not only does the government
overlook these illegal activities, but they also support it’s sales in order to
gain profit themselves. Even though the country as a whole has signed
international agreements that tie it to the international copyright laws that
are in compliance with the UN, they still overlook these laws in order to gain
profit.
When compared wit the USA, it is incredibly easy to get
ahold of fake goods in China. The USA has Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and many other
online shops that offer original goods, or goods made by those who had made an
account on those websites. Law enforcement of copyright laws is very strict in
the USA and so if a fake work is spotted, then it will be noticed by the
website in question and they will take it off the website’s listings. Such are
the rules of the terms of service on these websites. However, it is not to say
that the authenticity of these products is difficult to prove, especially when
an image is all that the buyer and the website have to verify the condition of
the product. This would be more of a patent infringed law, whereas the sales of
DVDs, CDs and books online are a copyright infringement.
The USA has a strict law enforcement of copyright laws on
the internet, asking the companies to abide with the laws and holding the accountable
for keeping stolen works away from their websites. However, when it comes to
China, the Chinese government is not taking action, rather supporting the sales
that profit them as well.
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