Although
many of you know that China is a major source of counterfeit goods, Korea is
also a huge manufacturer of fake products. Known for their skill in creating
perfect imitations of luxury designer products, Korea is also becoming known as
the creators of “super fakes.” Widely
available in Korea, these “super fakes” are boldly near designer boutiques as
well as copycat websites. There is
little wonder why Korea’s “super fakes” are becoming a hot item.
An article published in the Korea
Times last month addressed growing a stereotype. In Korea some feel that purchasing
counterfeits could actually bring free advertising for luxury brands and show
the level of the brand’s success. Some may feel that when a product is
counterfeited they have “made it” so to speak, but in reality, purchasing a counterfeit does absolutely nothing to help the
brand, or the economy for that matter.
This
year, the Intellectual Property Centre of the European Union Chamber of
Commerce in Korea (EUCCK IP Centre) developed and published a series of
anti-counterfeiting materials to distribute throughout Korea. This awareness
campaign was put into practice to stop the stereotypes about counterfeiting,
show Koreans that it is a punishable crime and make the general public aware of
the criminal acts they are supporting when they purchase a fake.
Apparently
anyone can walk down one of the main streets in Korea and find someone to sell
them a “super fake,” even in broad daylight. So how do these counterfeiters get
away with such an illegal act? Korea is very lenient with regards to punishing
them and when they get to court, the maximum sentence is only one year in
prison. The EUCCK works to track down the culprits online, but it is
difficult. “You have these advertising links flashing up on legitimate
websites, and it will take you to other websites, whose servers are often based
outside of Korea. That causes problems for taking enforcement action against
them,” Tom Duke, director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK)
IP Centre, told The Korea Times.
Although
it just launched this past August, we are hoping that the EUCCK IP Centre
campaign will see some positive results over the next year and slow down the
counterfeit market in Korea.