Anyone that has lived in or toured a big city like New York, London or Tokyo will undoubtedly bump into black market goods being sold on the side of the street.
From fake Rolex’s and Foaklies to DVDs filled with recently released movies.
Popular Science recently published an article discussing the business models and practices behind many of the “cloned” products manufactured in China.
While it doesn’t go into the nuts and bolts behind property rights theory, it does discuss some interesting issues of “counterfeiting” products wholesale (e.g., logos, user guides). One oddity is that some of the ghost companies manufacturing these “illicit” goods are able to build certain goods cheaper than the original firm and have even displaced the original company in specific marketplaces.
And unfortunately, the article shies away from explaining the differences between property theft, fraud, and intellectual property. Thus leaving one to wonder about the role of a inventor versus an innovator.
See also: 3D Scanners/Printers and The Death Camp of Communist China
