Awe, here we go. Let’s pick on the corporations. That’s original. How do you do what is right? You do a wrong in response to other perceived wrongs.
If corporations are filled with unethical people and/or practices, there must be a breeding ground for unethical people and practices somewhere. Ooops, wait…there are two breeading grounds; China just copied one and stole the whole unethical breeding ground concept.
I expect future corporations and world-wide companies to be spilling over with people who are just chock full of ethics and goodness. Yes, China is advancing mankind against evil corporations.
I disagree that China is doing anything unethical or wrong. It might be illegal but i don’t think it’s wrong.
Is the legality even meaningful in China? What jurisdiction are we talking about? It’s not like the US has any moral ground to stand on in terms of international law.
Eh…while I’m not fond of Disney (When I worked for Sea World we’d call them the “Evil Rat Empire”) I have to remind myself that they deserve the same protection under the law as anyone else. Even though I personally feel like they’ve done a lot to keep copywrite extended past what it really should be…but that’s another debate.
It’s like someone on trial for murder. They deserve a fair and impartial trial even though they may have been convicted of stealing and vandalism before. They still deserve the same rights as any other citizen. Same thing applies to big companies.
Of course, it is. China is a signatory to the Berne Convention, which governs copyright law.
As for trademarks, if they are registered with the China Trade Mark Office (CTMO), then the Chinese are legallly obligated to respect that trademark. I don’t know how Chinese law handles unregistered trademarks, but I suspect that it’s probably similar to how they are handled in other nations.
Well we are signatories to the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter but we feel free to ignore those treaties. If we can ignore international law without consequences then so can China.
These pictures are hilarious. I could not stop laughing after opening the link. I really expected some half-assed attempt at referencing beloved Disney characters. This is criminaly hilarious.
None of that matters. Were it illegal, it would have changed your opinion? Nah, probably not. WalMart, Disney, GM. Hmm, let’s just condemn everything. Since the Chinese park is copying Disney, they are at least a notch below them and worthy of your discontent.
Please opine more about corporations. Entertain us.
I just google-imaged donald duck for comparison, and a good portion of the pictures are of a little girl riding donald duck like she’s humping him, and a goodly other portion are of a guy in a donald duck costume exposing a woman’s nipple.
This is incredibly bizarre. It’s like saying, well, Bill next door beats his kid, so it’s OK for Dave down the street to rob banks.
I certainly don’t feel sorry for Walt Disney, Inc, because Disney is a corporation and has no feelings; my empathy would be misplaced. I believe in the protection of intellectual property as a matter of principle, and don’t particularly care how much money the parties involved might have. I don’t have to feel sorry for Disney to think that it is unfortunate that their rights with respect to their characters are being ignored.
(ftr - I consider it wrong for the US government to ignore provisions of the Geneva Convention and UN Charter, and I also consider it wrong for the amusement park in question to violate copyright and use Disney’s intellectual property without permission or payment. The former is more wrong than the latter, but they are both wrong).
I was flipping channels last night and saw a few minutes of a story about Zippo, and how they’ve suffered a huge hit because of cheap conterfeits being produced and sold by China. They’ve had to lay off lots of employees.
I find the whole thing goofy. What kind of Mickey Mouse organization are the Chinese running over there? Would a Vegas rendition of the Great Wall of China level things out?
If they’ve copied “It’s a Small World”, then I think they have been penalized enough.
Re Zippo lighters- bullshit. I buy a fake Rolex on Canal Street for ten bucks, did Rolex really lose a sale? :rolleyes: How can they possibly quantify the amount of people who would have really bought a Zippo but instead bought a knockoff? You can’t. That’s the point of these products- so that people who otherwise couldn’t afford it can now have one. Sort of. Its easy to blame someone else when you lay off employees- now they can hate the Chinese instead of you, and that’s what America needs now- more xenophobic Joe Sixpacks.
As for the China amusement park- good for them! One less ivory backscratcher for the Disney CEO. Gotta love the blatant “fuck you” of it all.
You sound awfully convinced that this claim is wrong. Do you perhaps have some counter-evidence to present?
Besides, I think your analogy is severely flawed. I rather doubt that you would have purchased a genuine Rolex if a Chinese knockoff were unavailable. In contrast, it’s not hard to imagine that numerous people would have purchased a genuine Zippo if not for these cheap-o imitations.
Loathe the wealthy, then buy cheap copies of watches the wealthy actually wear. Hey, you might be seen as wealthy. Exactly what are you trying to accomplish!?
“I hate those rich Rolex-wearing CEOs. Bastards. Hmm…what’s this? A Rolex for ten bucks. Ooh, I’ll buy that. Look at me world, I am wealthy. Please, I am not like the other wealthy people. I am only fake wealthy.”
I would like to see some evidence that those people would have bought real Zippos if the fakes weren’t available. That just sounds like a convenient scapegoat for the company’s sagging sales.
In hindsight, the Rolex analogy was waaay excessive, but it was not meant to taken literally- sorry for the confusion. And full disclosure, I thought zippos cost 50-100 dollars, and was wrong. Mea Culpa on that part.
But I still do not see how the Zippo guy can say for sure that knockoffs are the reason for the layoffs- maybe its his bad marketing, or mismangement? People aren’t smoking at the same rate as they used to. And maybe Zippos just aren’t a big thing in today’s society- sure in the 70’s many adults had them, but I don’t know of a single person who has that type lighter at all- when Zippo was huge, were disposable lighters even mass marketed?
To me these are a relic of a sadly bygone era, like the 8-track tape and chains attached to your wallet. I just don’t see todays young adults as being into Zippos.
And the knockoffs I see sold in the streets are bought more as a novelty.
And there are Chinese knockoffs of every product imaginable, other comapnies adjust or what have you.