China's pirate industry thriving

As a Western source in the overseas branch of the security agency Pinkerton Services Corp. says, "Counterfeiting is now epic. It isn't understood yet how epic. We help run regular busts, but we catch only a fraction of what's out there."

The government itself admits the problem. "There is a very alarming phenomenon that, although the legislation is always being improved ... [intellectual property right] infringement still runs rampant in the country," says Li Mingde of the Intellectual Property Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Science.

Along with paying agencies like Pinkerton to work with local police, some corporations are starting media campaigns against piracy. Burberry, the British fashion company whose traditional plaid patterns have been the rage in Asia for the past year, has felt enough of a loss in sales, that this week it took out a large page 3 ad in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The ad shows a small girl wearing a Burberry dress standing in front of a sign reading "COUNTERFEITING" - with a red line crossing through it.

"We blow the whistle on counterfeiters," reads the headline. "Anyone who uses our name, our equestrian knight insignia, or checks identical or confusingly similar to our Burberry check without our permission is counterfeiting our trademarks and will hear from our lawyers."

At Treasure Street, mainly Russian-speaking men wander in and out of the showrooms. Many rooms have polished wooden floors, ambient lighting, Art Deco sculptures, and salespersons with designer eyeglasses and gracious manners. All have a sign that reads "No Domestic Sales" - and ethnic Chinese are often encouraged to leave. Some shops have name brands, others offer to add name brands like Dior or K-Swiss later.

One owner says he will pack the goods for shipping. But he will not take responsibility for how the package leaves the country. Instead, he sets up buyers with a company that will "guarantee" delivery with no customs problems - at least on the Chinese side.

In the ocean of fake consumer goods, China may run the biggest pirate fleet. But other Asian states, like Taiwan, are also mega-offenders. In November, federal officials in Los Angeles intercepted some $100 million in pirated Microsoft software - the largest seizure ever, according to news reports. Authorities said the syndicate was based in Taiwan.

Rarely analyzed is the way cheap Western-style goods, styles, and intellectual materials perpetuates a "globalized" standard of middle-class tastes and habits in China.

One implication is a continued interchange between what is "foreign" and what is traditionally Chinese, in a country that has long been isolated. The appetite among younger Chinese for Hollywood movies, for example, "is endless," says Min Chun, a graduate student. Her friends take pride in collecting and swapping hundreds of films, and CDs of Western music (the Beatles are a recent favorite at some Beijing campuses). Yet, at Western prices, no students could afford them, she says.

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