David Pierson wrote in the Los Angeles Times, The trend away from fake phones “spells trouble for cellphone counterfeiters, whose hub is the southern industrial city of Shenzhen. Aided by China's weak protection of intellectual property and an abundant supply of low-cost semiconductors, hundreds of factories sprouted over the last decade, churning out knockoff handsets. ... [More] [Back To Top]

About 82 percent of the software used in China is pirated, well above the Asian regional average of 55 percent. Software piracy accounts for billion of dollars in losses to Chinese and foreign software developers every year. The last video games and Microsoft software are widely available in pirated form.... [More] [Back To Top]

In 2007, it was estimated that 93 percent of the movies sold in China were pirated. Pirated DVDs, VCDs, (video compact discs, cheaper, low-tech versions of DVDs) and videos are widely available on the streets in China. ... [More] [Back To Top]

The Economist reported: Suppose for a moment that the gloomiest predictions for the music business turn out to be correct. Efforts by governments and record companies to shut down file-sharing websites like the Pirate Bay fail. Piracy becomes so entrenched that people simply stop buying legitimate CDs. ... [More] [Back To Top]

Counterfeiting of luxury goods is very common. Louis Vuitton wallets sell for as little $4. Prada, Louis Vuittin, Burberry, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Givenchy and Chanel are particularly popular with counterfeiters and shoppers.... [More] [Back To Top]

Commonly counterfeited products include CDs, computer software, foreign cigarettes, medicines, watches, wines, auto parts, books, Tibetan jewelry, Qing coins, Marlboro cigarettes, Sony Walkmens, Maxell tapes, Apple I-pods, Sony Playstations. Rolex watches, Coca-cola, Pabst beer, "Chrysler" jeeps, fake train tickets, 100 yuan notes, lottery tickets and certificates that state antique items are genuine. Watch out for packages of tea with John Deere logo.... [More] [Back To Top]

Fake, pirated or counterfeit items sold or made in China are found throughout China and the world. In the mid 2000s, it was estimated that 90 percent of the movies, music and software sold in China was pirated. The market value of pirated and counterfeit goods produced in China is estimated at between $19 billion and $24 billion a year in 2003.... [More] [Back To Top]

Piracy accounts for 95 percent of the music and CD sales in China. On the streets of Shanghai it possible to buy CDs by Western artists such Pink Floyd, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Sting, Leonard Bernstein, Bon Jovi and Sinead O'Conner for a little as 50 cents a piece.... [More] [Back To Top]

Record companies don’t even bother with traditional album style record contracts or setting up distribution networks and instead concentrate more on talent management and making money in ways other than selling recordings. ... [More] [Back To Top]

Pirated VCDs showed up large numbers in 1995. They robbed the Hong Kong film industry of 40 percent of its business, and forcing video shops and theaters to close down. Pirating is costs the world film industry at about $3 billion a year in lost sales.... [More] [Back To Top]

Piracy is as rampant in the publishing industry as it is in the CD, video and DVD industries. Pirated copies of Harry Potter are widely available.... [More] [Back To Top]

Many of the stalls where pirated materials are sold in China are run by old ladies. They are often poorly lit and difficult to find. Counterfeit luxury goods are often sold on the streets in cities and markets around the world. They are also widely available on the Internet.... [More] [Back To Top]

The CD and DVD factories in China are very profitable and each year they produce tens of millions of copies. In the 1990s China Records used a $2 million CD making machine purchased from First Light Technologies in Minnesota to turn out one CD every seven seconds at a cost of about 25 cents per CD. Many of the CD plants can also make CD-ROMS, digital audio discs and CD graphics... [More] [Back To Top]

In 2010, before the real things hit the shelves, knock-offs of Apple iPhone 4's and iPad were widely available in malls in major Chinese cities, in many cases with features that weren’t available on the Apple versions such as removable batteries and places for two SIM cards (allowing users to have two telephones numbers) in the case of the new iPhones .... [More] [Back To Top]

Chinese often describe counterfeits items as shanzhai, a term that originally described the mountain fortress of a bandit. Of late it has become kind of social statement to buy such goods because they support workers and factories in China but the don’t make big profits for foreign companies.... [More] [Back To Top]

In September 2011, Patti Waldmeir of Slate.com wrote: “Indeed, some Chinese businessmen and even government officials believe that faking things can be creative in its own right � provided the imitation adds value.... [More] [Back To Top]

Pirated CDs, DVDs and software cost United States music, movie and software businesses at least $3 billion a year. In May 2011, China was listed for the seventh year by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office as a country with one of the worst records for preventing copyright theft.... [More] [Back To Top]

Reporting from Beijing, David Pierson wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “Xiong Mingjian is often crushed into a corner during his tedious subway commutes, but passing the time has been easy since he bought a nifty new cellphone. The 27-year-old store clerk surfs the Internet and taps away at games on his Motorola Defy, one of an increasing number of popular high-end mobile phones that are helping China shed its label as a knockoff haven. [Source: David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2011]... [More] [Back To Top]

David Pierson wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “Falling prices for brand-name models are just one reason crude clones are becoming passe. International pressure led to periodic crackdowns by Chinese authorities. Bad press about exploding batteries and high radiation in some flimsy phones scared off some customers as well.... [More] [Back To Top]