Fake Apple Stores shut down
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
OFFICIALS in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province have ordered two unauthorized Apple shops to close because the outlets in the southwestern city did not have an official business permit.
Five self-branded Apple Stores were found to be selling Apple products without authorization from the California-based company, but only two were told to shut, officials said.
An investigation into the stores was apparently sparked by a storm of media attention over an elaborate hoax Apple shop discovered by an American blogger. The order did not apply to that store, which is applying to Apple for a reseller licence, a local government spokesman said.
Chang Puyun, a spokesman for Kunming government's business bureau, said: "The media should not misunderstand the situation and jump to conclusions. Some overseas media have implied the stores were selling fake Apple products.
"China has taken great steps to enforce intellectual property rights and the stores were not selling fake products."
He said officials are investigating whether Apple had applied to the Chinese government to have its store design and layout protected by law.
The authorities inspected about 300 shops in Kunming after a blog post by an American living in the city exposed a near-flawless fake Apple Store, where even the staff were convinced they were working for the iPhone and iPad maker.
Angry customers berated staff and demanded refunds at one of these stores late last week, uncertain of the legitimacy of the products on offer.
In addition to protecting trademarks, Chinese law prohibits companies from copying the "look and feel" of other companies' stores, but enforcement can be patchy. Many unauthorized resellers of Apple's and other brands' electronic products throughout China sell the real thing but buy their goods overseas and smuggle them into the country to avoid taxes.
According to Huang Yinghui, an official at Kunming's business bureau, all five unauthorized Apple shops were selling genuine Apple products bought from authorized resellers in China.
Apple has just four genuine Apple Stores in China, in Beijing and Shanghai, and none in Kunming. The company, which has 13 authorized resellers in Kunming, could not be reached for comment.
Five self-branded Apple Stores were found to be selling Apple products without authorization from the California-based company, but only two were told to shut, officials said.
An investigation into the stores was apparently sparked by a storm of media attention over an elaborate hoax Apple shop discovered by an American blogger. The order did not apply to that store, which is applying to Apple for a reseller licence, a local government spokesman said.
Chang Puyun, a spokesman for Kunming government's business bureau, said: "The media should not misunderstand the situation and jump to conclusions. Some overseas media have implied the stores were selling fake Apple products.
"China has taken great steps to enforce intellectual property rights and the stores were not selling fake products."
He said officials are investigating whether Apple had applied to the Chinese government to have its store design and layout protected by law.
The authorities inspected about 300 shops in Kunming after a blog post by an American living in the city exposed a near-flawless fake Apple Store, where even the staff were convinced they were working for the iPhone and iPad maker.
Angry customers berated staff and demanded refunds at one of these stores late last week, uncertain of the legitimacy of the products on offer.
In addition to protecting trademarks, Chinese law prohibits companies from copying the "look and feel" of other companies' stores, but enforcement can be patchy. Many unauthorized resellers of Apple's and other brands' electronic products throughout China sell the real thing but buy their goods overseas and smuggle them into the country to avoid taxes.
According to Huang Yinghui, an official at Kunming's business bureau, all five unauthorized Apple shops were selling genuine Apple products bought from authorized resellers in China.
Apple has just four genuine Apple Stores in China, in Beijing and Shanghai, and none in Kunming. The company, which has 13 authorized resellers in Kunming, could not be reached for comment.
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