It is almost impossible to avoid copying in Asia!  -written & posted by tim i gurung 18 may 2009

It is sad but unfortunately it is the truth here. Copying is still rampant everywhere and it is a serious issue. Copyright and intellectual property law is mostly just in the paper although the relevant authorities are trying hard to improve it and encouraging manufacturers to register for their designs and products. And few successful claimed cases against the infringers are coming on the lights here and there. However, if we are to be free of copying or at least up to certain respectable level which is acceptable to the international business society, there is still a lot more to be done as the actual job is not even started yet.

 I am not claiming to be representing the real situation of all the industries that we have here, I am just expressing the view on the industry that I am actually in, and that is the furniture industry! However, I am pretty sure that it is almost same as we have in furniture industry since the actual reason behind the copying is not based on the industry itself but it is on the culture and mentality of the people who are in the industry, therefore, it must be the same on every industry, nonetheless, I will be particularly explaining the situation in the furniture industry.

The main 2 reasons for this issue can be explained as below:

•  a.  Asia has been the cheap factory of the western world since the beginning of the globalization, thus, it is obvious that most of the countries here are export oriented. Due to its unlimited source of cheap, hardworking labor and almost free of union hassle, welcoming and accommodating local official, it was a perfect place for manufacturing cheap products. Business was good and everybody was happy! Suddenly your neighbor started to take notice and tried to find out what you were up to and gradually the whole village, estate, province and the whole country knew about it and not to be left behind in any cost, they also started to produce the same products that you were producing with full confidence of making a big fortune out of it as you are doing now, thus, the disease of the copying got started out of curiosity and eventually got spread to the whole nation. At the end, the product was available almost everywhere in abundant as they were just copied, so, only deciding factor remain was the price and to be competitive only option left was to cut corners on quality and material and nothing else. Eventually the quality of the product deteriorated so badly that it became a scrap! Now, more products were needed on the market to be copied but eventually would follow the same fate as the 1^st one. The circle just kept going on and on and on until we realized the situation clearly that it will take us nowhere and then only this trend will stop for and all.

• b.  Most of the big companies, those with a big chunk of market clout, do set the market trends as they can influence the whole market with their market share, they do also have the financial muscle to hire and develop the top brains that is available on the market, thus, most of their new products are popular and successful generating big business for them. That is great for the big guys but what about the small guys? Who has neither financial muscle nor any influence on the market, they just have to go with what the market is asking for, so, what they do now? Bring those products to the world’s factory in Asia and copy it thence sell it cheap! Or scrap for the old out of fashion products and sell on the meager profit for survival. That is the only viable option in hand. Therefore, copying is a forced act of a desperate soul and they are not the only one to blame for it.

 In conclusion, copying is definitely a despicable act and it should be limited to a certain level where both party can benefits from it without compromising the rights and benefits of both party. And it is definitely not the act of any single party as there are both sides involved on the act. Blaming alone to the Asian for copying will be definitely unfair and unjust since the westerner were the one who brought the products first and asked them to copy it at the beginning. On top of that, Asian designs also do not get preferential response in the western market. If a nation harbors a notion of having a good quality product but just would pay for it as less as possible, copying will always be the only available option and it will always be encouraged. As long as such notions are there, copying will never go away, it will be always there.

It is definitely not an honorable thing to do, but ironically, it is also feeding many people at the same time. May be it is a funny way of bringing balance between the haves and haves not by god himself. Who knows? Cynically agreed, it might be a blessing in disguise!! Let us know your opinions by e-mail at info@the-ordinary.com, thank you!