Protecting your IP in China, Part II

Had a couple of great conversations with a camera factory and the Chinese customs yesterday. We are ordering some disposable cameras and got a “Kodak” sample from one of the factories that we talked with. We immediately called them to see about ordering the “Kodak” camera since the price was basically the same as the no-name cameras that we were finding elsewhere. They told us that we certainly could get “Kodak” embossed on the camera body but that it wasn’t really Kodak—it’s a fake. In fact, they said that they will be glad to ship it any where we wanted but we may have some issues if we try to import it into the US. But anywhere else, including Europe, would not be a problem.Now this factory is not some back-ally secret that we just happened upon. It’s listed on all the major international sourcing websites and participates in international tradeshows too.Naturally, we were incredulous. And since there were some other questions about the importing some items to the US we called the Chinese customs here in Shenzhen. Yup, exporting “Kodak” cameras that were not made by Kodak was not a problem—meaning there is no check as product leaves China. But, we were told, the US customs will call the listed Kodak factory of origin to verify the shipment before it is allowed into the US.If you believe all the great news coming out of China consider this your wake up call. You need to temper all the hype you’re hearing about how quickly China is catching up to the West’s legal and IP standards. Sure China joined the WTO. Sure the legal system is developing quickly. Sure China is miles ahead of where they were even 5 years ago. But China is still the number one producer of black market goods in the world. Your IP is your own responsibility. Register your brands and trade marks in the US and in China. Get your legal ducks in a row so that when you (not if you) have a problem you can immediately resolve it.