INTA 2014: Microsoft lauds action against Chinese counterfeiters

The Chinese authorities are tackling counterfeiters from increasingly wide angles, according to Microsoft's senior brand enforcement manager, who was speaking at the INTA annual conference in Hong Kong.

Edward Haijiang Yang, who had worked under the Nokia brand until its mobile phone division was acquired by Microsoft, said the “width and depth” of criminal action against counterfeiters was striking.

“We used to say the authorities take action on only some targets, mainly on manufacturers on the ground,” he said, but now groups including wholesalers, suppliers, distributors or “even backstreet hawkers” are being clamped down on, while more Chinese agencies are involved.

Yang was speaking in a session called 'Criminal action against counterfeiters in China', on the third day of the conference.

Discussing further trends around the topic, he said he has noticed more and more successful convictions against counterfeiters in China.

But the news was not completely positive. Yang said the number of cases involving used products that have been “refurbished” and sold as genuine has “caused a lot of headaches to the authorities, as they used to be very reluctant to take action against second-hand products”.

The cost of producing these “refurbished” goods is low while the profit margin is high, said Yang, explaining that they are prevalent in industries such as car manufacturing and electronics.

In addition, courts are typically more favourable to the evidence of suspects rather than IP owners, with the alleged counterfeiters often playing the “underdog” role, he said. And the selective use of evidence leads to “arbitrary” results.

The INTA conference runs from May 11 to 14.