like i said, i don't hold it against those who buy em. everyone lives by their own rules. i do hold it against the car and i definitely hold it against the companies. but a debate has at least 2 sides and if someone reads my (or other's similar) views and rolls with it then i'm happy. if they lean the other way that's cool too.

 

Here's the key issue that I've never been able to get answered. I've even asked it to Junction Produce via several channels and have not ever had a response.

If knockoff bodykits ARE illegal, why is no legal action ever taken against companies like Shine? If the cost is too high, don't they make clones of several different company's kits and you'd think they could go in together to hire a competent lawyer and put them out of business.

Why is that? Beyond the ethical concerns (which I agree with) if it's illegal, why aren't they being shut down?

 

cost and effort required to persue action i'd imagine. i don't suspect it would be too hard to go broke taking it legal everytime a replica popped up. personally i think any company with a stop the copy logo on their site should step up to the plate at least once and make an example out of someone.

 

I don't think it'd be that hard to take some sort of action and apparently they don't. A lawyer can generate a cease and desist notifcation without much effort and you'd think they have a lawyer at least on retainer if they're doing international business contracts.

 

there's one way to win and a million ways to loose. minor differences, public domain images, etc. then you have to consider that one company would be fighting an endless supply of opponents. you could beat shine, then you could beat version select, then you just have to be ready for the next one. i also think you would have to fight it product for product rather than company vs. company.

i think public awareness campaigns like "stop the copy" are the alternative. put a bad enough reputation on the knockoff companies and they'll fizzle out... in theory.

 

to have a supra and to purchase knockoffs and know your going to purchase more of them if your decision , saying its real is a whole different story.

kinda point proven, If i had a 93+ supra , I wouldnt go knock off thou. Just me

 

The only real issue I have with knockoffs is that the money is taken away from the originator of the design. It's easy to create a copy but its takes a lot of time, creativity, and money to make something original. When you buy an authentic product, you are supporting those who create original pieces. By supporting the original work, the manufactuer will continuously make new innovative pieces because there is a market demand. If all of the support and money is going toward knockoffs, the original manufactuer will most likey make less new products because it'll simply be copied.

Like the Mona Lisa, there are many who could duplicate it but only one that is authentic. Making car parts and putting a car together is no different. It is an art form, one way or another it is how we express ourselves. By supporting authencity you are supporting original pieces of art.

Drugs are a whole entire story, it simply man-made chemistry. It is science and it does not have any creativity behind it. I would buy generic drugs over brand name any day of the week.

This is the main reason why I support authentic.

 

Yes they can. At which time, the mold will be sold to another knock off company. By the time the cease and desist order is in place, they would have already recovered the cost of the mold (from selling what they already made) and then some (plus the money for selling the mold). It's a cycle that will never stop here in the US.

I remembered Veilside doing this is the mid 90's. So it stopped for about 3 months, then it was business as usual. These companies don't care,because they have a few dozen copies of different brands. So what if they have to stop making one part, that's not even going to hurt their sales.

This has been going on longer in the wheel industry. And as a result, a few Japanese and European wheel makers have closed down or don't consider designing new wheels a priority.

 

Veilside body kits are so hideous I would not even rock an authentic one even if they paid me. Well, it depends on how much lol

Wheels are an entire different story. Nobody can really undercut anyone really.

Most 2-piece/3-piece designs cannot be cheaply and accurately replicated. They end up looking like Axis or some other eBay wheels. If anyone does replicate a multipiece wheel and construct it the same way it won't be cheap. Look at I-Forged. No one is going to be able to construct something like Volk GT-V or Work VS-XX and be as light and durable and be able to undercut the original manufacturers.

 

International law is also quite complex. This is a huge problem for businesses that have/are having companies in China produce their products. Most businesses outsource their production under a contract to companies in China; the question is what do you do once your contract is up and that Chinese company suddenly decides to become your competitor?

Companies may be able to get a judgment through a lawsuit, but the problem is collecting on the judgment and preventing copies from being produced in the future by other companies.

 

The same can be said about VIS Racing, WingsWest, even MVP Motorsports who copy and resell other company original designs.

The same can be said about forged wheel manufacturers as well, Compare HRE to iForged, DPE, KOR and others. The forged designs dont vary much... who has the rights to the design? even it they are all 99% identical in design?

 

I am surely not cheap when it comes to my cars, those who know me can attest to that. A lot of it has to do with delivery time and waiting. Could I have bought a Top Secret Diffuser from FIZZ? for $1200 .... of course I could have. Did I want to wait 6-12 months for it to show up in Nov from TopSecret? ..... NO. Shine had a very comparible product that was delivered in 2weeks. AND... as an added bonus was lower in cost than the TS part. To be honest, price was never a factor. Iwas looking for a TS diffuser, I read about shine, I looked into their reviews and I made a choice.

As a consumer, At the end of the day it is all about a quality product & delivery time for me as I don't care who gets my money when it leaves my wallet.

I considered VIP'ing the GS350, but I didn't buy the Fabulous kit and Fabulous wheels for my GS350. There is nothing to justify why their parts are marked up that much. We all know their designs are sub contracted to other manufacturers and wheel companies (Enkei or any other large scale JDM shops) which are then resold under their logo.


Either way.... I can see both sides to this debate, but as a consumer, and an enthusiast (not an "industry person") I want the most for my $$$.

 

what copyright, or patent does Junction Produce hold? there's no such thing as "international copyright law"

 

it is considered intellectual property and the u.s. has copyright relations with japan meaning we honor each other's copyright laws. "international copyright law" was misworder on my part.

 

If only the majority of people think like you. Unfortunately, all they care about is how it looks, how much it cost and can they get them right away.

A few years back I had a set of Traffic Star DTMs' and not only did people think it was the Axis Milanos, but didn't know that there was even a Japanese company called Traffic Star.

A wheel design is one aspect of the wheel that influences buyers. So IMO, you are also taking away business just by copying how it looks.