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Chinese knock-off basses

#202
buldog5151bass said:
What I am reading is a lot of people trying to torture out a justification for them the buy counterfeits. It's up to Fender/Ric/whever to decide whether there to go after anyone, and waiving their rights in one instance does NOT mean they have waived them or lost the protection. A lawsuit like that will easily cost the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you don't want to follow the law, that's up to you. But don't try asserting the moral/legal/ethical high ground when you aren't on it. And if you don't get paid on a gig because the bar decides your rights don't count, oh well...
Click to expand...

I would counter with "don't try asserting the moral/legal/ethical high ground... -EVER."
 
#204
As far as I can gather, there are 17 cities in Europe with over a million inhabitants.
In China I've found 106.
Generalisations concerning their manufactured output could be difficult.

Is it in the interests of progress to turn ideas into protected commodities, or rather to judge by the quality of the instrument regardless of the writing on the headstock?
What famous painter would dare to leave a painting unsigned, to sink or swim on it's merits?
 
#205
Agni said:
As far as I can gather, there are 17 cities in Europe with over a million inhabitants.
In China I've found 106.
Generalisations concerning their manufactured output could be difficult.

Is it in the interests of progress to turn ideas into protected commodities, or rather to judge by the quality of the instrument regardless of the writing on the headstock?
What famous painter would dare to leave a painting unsigned, to sink or swim on it's merits?
Click to expand...

The name of the headstock has a value, which is protected by law. No one has an issue with luthiers in China (or anywhere else) making instruments. But the very fact that counterfeiters are using the names without permission means that THEY don't want to be judged by the quality of the instrument.
 
#206
buldog5151bass said:
The name of the headstock has a value, which is protected by law. No one has an issue with luthiers in China (or anywhere else) making instruments. But the very fact that counterfeiters are using the names without permission means that THEY don't want to be judged by the quality of the instrument.
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Maybe there should be a law that requires manufacturers to put their brand name and logo on the back of the headstock instead of having it on the front. That should solve everything.
 
#207
Cliff Colton said:
Maybe there should be a law that requires manufacturers to put their brand name and logo on the back of the headstock instead of having it on the front. That should solve everything.
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Why? People buy things based upon the names on the front. They also buy based upon the shape and design - also which are protected IP in many cases. Many people buy Honda car's because they believe Hondas are reliable, as one example.

How about people just not poach other people's protected property?
 
#208
buldog5151bass said:
Why? People buy things based upon the names on the front. They also buy based upon the shape and design - also which are protected IP in many cases. Many people buy Honda car's because they believe Hondas are reliable, as one example.

How about people just not poach other people's protected property?
Click to expand...

It isn't protected property in China. They can infringe on anything they want to. Pirated movies, albums, instruments. You name it, China has it. Now shipping it to this country isn't legal, because once the item is here, it has to adhere to our laws. No one in China will get in trouble, though. They can get away with building these fakes because it isn't illegal there.
 
#210
I used to make things.
People often told me I should sign them somehow.
I told them my work was my signature.
If work stands on its own, it doesn't need a name painted on it.
If it doesn't, a fancy name doesn't really help.
The notion that creative ideas can be owned by an individual can only be entertained by an unsophisticated mind.
 
#211
Lownote38 said:
It isn't protected property in China. They can infringe on anything they want to. Pirated movies, albums, instruments. You name it, China has it. Now shipping it to this country isn't legal, because once the item is here, it has to adhere to our laws. No one in China will get in trouble, though. They can get away with building these fakes because it isn't illegal there.
Click to expand...

To start, most countries respect the laws of other countries. Second of all, they are marketing and selling them here. Third, you are the one who said we should change our laws.
 
#212
Agni said:
I used to make things.
People often told me I should sign them somehow.
I told them my work was my signature.
If work stands on its own, it doesn't need a name painted on it.
If it doesn't, a fancy name doesn't really help.
The notion that creative ideas can be owned by an individual can only be entertained by an unsophisticated mind.
Click to expand...
Music should be free.
 
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#216
Having been my own boss, and never having had a mortgage (which is Latin for 'death-grip') I don't expect to share some of the opinions here - though I hold them to be equally valid.

However ...

I would rather listen to a musician who played for the sheer love of playing, than someone who was just doing his job.
 

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