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Another Asian Repro Co

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
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8,425
Location
Glasgow
An intellectual property guy I spoke to not so long ago, described China as the Wild West of IP. There centuries-old whisky companies fighting to own their names there, just because the law refuses to recognise their primacy!
 

Blackadder

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,828
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China
I wonder if it means they score hits on Google? I don't believe for a second that it's just a coincidence, tbh. It's not unheard of in this niche for people to use another trader's name in an arguably dubious way, is it? I'm looking at you Bill 'Aeronaut' Kelso, btw...
Actually no. If you google Good Wear Leather Jacket Company, you won't find them. As far as Google search in English goes, their company only comes up if one type Master Film Mfg Co.
 

eugenesque

One of the Regulars
Messages
244
I would think that Korea is less "wild west" than China in terms of IP matters.

That said, IP rights are to a large extent territorial and it would seem a bit hard to maintain a cause of action if there is no international registration of trademark by GW.

I may be visiting Korea in spring this year. If I wind up in Seoul, perhaps I will poke my nose around at their given address to see what they are up to.
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
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6,827
Location
East Java
to me the label clearly put Master Film as their brand, if they mention they make a "classic good wear leather jacket", I think what they mean was "good wearing" and
the font is just western type font, one would probably use to identify with military style or americana.
Beside even as a brand "good wear" is a little too common phrase to begin with.
I won't be too quick to jump the gun on this.

But korean do copy designer stuff, they do better quality copy than chinese, but usually korean just copy the design and slap on their own brands.
 

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,900
Location
Shanghai
Knock-offs were all over Korea when I lived there- sometimes of exceptionally good quality. I had a pair of fake CATS that lasted me 7 years when real ones I'd bought in the West lasted two. It's not coincidence in this case, I don't think. Chinese fakes were of similarly variable quality from my time there (I've had trousers lasting three weeks and ones that, so far, are going on three years without any probs). The problem is usually that local courts don't bother with copyright infringement at all.
 

AdeeC

Practically Family
Messages
646
Location
Australia
Copying in China and other parts of Asia has deep cultural roots. They just don't see anything wrong with it and is well embedded in their artistic and academic past. It was preferable for thousands of years to copy works of past masters and periods than to create ones own as well as using their names. Intellectual property is a difficult concept for them to grasp. In a way it could be seen as an honour to have ones products imitated.

I know a furniture manufacturer who makes high class distinctive furniture. He was invited to have an exhibition in Shanghai by some prospective Chinese business partners. No deal happened after the exhibition but within a year all his best pieces were being copied and there was nothing he could do about it.
 
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eugenesque

One of the Regulars
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244
In China, there are established grades for copied fashion products. The top grades can retail for quite a sum too.
 

Rudie

Call Me a Cab
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2,069
Location
Berlin
no reference to Good Wear here:
240164_20141002140324279733.jpg
 

bentusian

One of the Regulars
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259
Location
NYC
I don't believe the owner (it's basically an one-man workshop) meant anything serious with 'good wear leather' title and was simply trying to say he's making jackets that look good when worn, because as far as I know Hungoo's background doesn't go that far - sorry about the bad English.. And according to the owner the parts he's using (Talon zippers and Carr snaps) are all originals he managed to procure from various sources.

As for their products, they have been improving for the past few years especially in terms of leather being used and the cut. Their jackets have been well received in the domestic market mainly because their price range is not too bad as blackadder mentioned. But there still is a long way to go for them, while the biggest problem is they fit way too slim (maybe even slimmer than most of the Japanese brands).

^^ Is Korea better than China in this regard? I can't imagine, and given they've taken this by all looks intentionally, I'd say they'll LOL at anything...

We used to be - when our sweatshops were making high-end leather products for US and Japan and other countries.. but not any more.
 
Messages
234
Location
Northern California
At some point back a while, one of my customers in Spain was actually using one of JC's photos to advertise jackets. Not realizing it I posted the link on VLJ and I think it may have been ButteMT61 that noticed and brought it to attention. I was just trying to promote the guy as his......Uh, I mean JC's jackets looked great. Far from the quality and attention to detail of the Good Wear jackets, I shamed him over and over until he finally changed the photos. But he refused for quite some time and maintained that what he was doing was justified in so many ways. This among other reasons terminated any connection we had or ever will. Regardless of him understanding or not, I just couldn't stomach the fact that he was riding the coat tails of others that way. He went on and on to explain how his jackets weren't as costly and of the same quality so I just cut him off all together. Then it was "I can hire another patch maker to create the same as you do" Ok pal, if you say so.

Anyway, I brought this up on VLJ yesterday and it hasn't snowballed the way it has here. But looking back at this company has me thinking all may be good. They're using their own photos and the labels and Company name are original. It seems he might just be saying that they're making the same types of jackets as JC.....IF?.....there's a connection at all.
 

Blackadder

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,828
Location
China
An intellectual property guy I spoke to not so long ago, described China as the Wild West of IP. There centuries-old whisky companies fighting to own their names there, just because the law refuses to recognise their primacy!
There are different areas of IP law. There is the common law passing-off and there is the Trademark law involving various treaties and registraion systems. As far as trademark dispute in China goes, more often than not it has to do with extortion by registering famous trademarks before the Foreign owners enter the Chinese market. Of course there are also the fake and knock-offs which are criminal matters even in China.

The whole Trademark law goes beyond the word/name especially if the word is Good Wear which has an ordinary meaning and may therefore be difficult to register alone. Trademark registration is separated into different categories, e.g. clothing, perfume, leather etc. Companies often register their trademarks even in categories they are not really involved in as a preemtive action. For argument sake, a trademark dispute could have happened between the Good Wear and the Goodwear in the US.
 
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nick123

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,371
Location
California
image.jpg
Just that the labels seem "similarly inspired". The other one is a Rainbow Country.

I think that Rainbow Country tag was a spinoff from a vintage brand. If these guys are aware of all of the stylistic nuances, it's pretty safe to assume they've heard of GW if they're hip to these details (such as the FQHH label). But maybe it is some sort of language barrier (good-wearing) without any foul intent. That's a good point someone brought up. Still, if I was the shop owner, I'd change my wording upon discovering the GW brand.
 
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