52% think it OK to buy counterfeit brand goods, DVDs: survey

Friday 24th October, 06:46 AM JST

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gaijintraveller at 10:18 AM JST - 24th October

I maintain the biggest fakers are the brands themselves. When you pay a high price for an Italian brand, for example, are you paying for an Italian product made by skilled Italians or something produced by underpaid labour working in Dickensian conditions in a developing country? Perhaps, the counterfeit version offers fairer trade by the definition of "fair trade" which demands workers receive reasonable value for their work.

In the case of software many people see purchasing pirates as a way round restrictive and monopolistic practices such as regionalisation of DVDs or some other lack of choice.

I just wish it was as easy to find products in South East Asia without brand names as it is to find them with names I do not want to have printed on them.
ptolemy at 10:55 AM JST - 24th October

Whats the big deal almost everything in Japan is fake any way. The politicians, friendships, education, government retirement accounts and care for the elderly. Ptloemy says this only serves to disprove the "honesty Japan" myth like the "safety Japan" myth. Perhaps the fakery all around is one reason some young are choosing to play guitar in train stations at night with their close friends. They have found something real in an ocean fakeness.
daisan at 11:12 AM JST - 24th October

If they think that in order to fit in or be accepted you need a bag or a watch then they have bigger problems than just buying fake goods.
Notginger at 11:29 AM JST - 24th October

Only 52%?
gogogo at 11:36 AM JST - 24th October

Young people dont care about IP.
adm_kenshin at 03:13 PM JST - 24th October

Jerseyboy: Actually, it doesn't work this way ^_^. Japanese companies usually sell because they have a certain quality label, which is why so many chinese buy japanese electronics and cars when they can afford it. It's good value for your money. Now, if you've seen counterfeit electronics (like the iPhones) you know it's useless crap that shouldn't be bought.

Now, using Louis-vutton as an example, clothing is different. A fake LV bag isn't much worse quality than a real one, and much cheaper. Clothing is easy to make, and thus doesn't really deserve the high prices some brands have today.

There are many other examples. In most of these cases, companies have chosen to make more money by lowering their quality, and paying customers for the occasional bad product. They earn much more this way than they would making a quality product, and rely on IP to not be copied. Now time is running up for them. Did they really believe they could trick the free market for so long?
larguero at 05:21 PM JST - 24th October

If they sold 5 US$ Dvd's and 15 US$ Armani T-shirts, less people would buy fakes. But to do that, they should start cutting the 30 million actor cachet and don't have executives that buy Ferraris and travel in the company jets. I save for my Ferrari by not buying 20 US$ Dvds and 150 US$ Armani T-shirts that only make rich people richer.
escape_artist at 09:15 PM JST - 24th October

Re: DVDs, what do the authorities & movie companies expect when they're priced so obscenely high in Japan. I know the subtitles cost a bit more but 4,000-5,000 yen or more for a new DVD?! I sure will never buy at that ridiculous price. And yeah, I would bet it's higher than 52%, too.
usaexpat at 12:19 AM JST - 25th October

My question has always been what good is a counterfiet? If you are of the class that can't recognize the difference and want to impress your friends well then I guess. Personally I would only buy a "luxury" good if I believed it was superior. I happen to have an Omega watch because I like it, what would be the point in having a chinese made copy. I didn't buy it to impress anyone, I simply like the product which is the only reason I can see for spending hard earned money on anything.
OgieDoggie at 01:08 AM JST - 25th October

I'd say it's OK. As long as you pay with counterfeit money. -PleasureGelf

PleasureGelt - Right On baby!
Betting at 04:41 PM JST - 25th October

So, what is the point of having brand goods in the first place then?
Lieutenant at 05:19 PM JST - 25th October

So, what is the point of having brand goods in the first place then?

This is a great opportunity to pretend you have money, when you really don't.
as_the_crow_flies at 07:52 PM JST - 25th October

Why should anyone think it's not ok to (knowingly) buy counterfeit brand goods? It's your choice as a consumer. You're not responsible for copyright, the producers and sellers are. Whether you buy or not is up to you. This is just the sort of warped thinking the purveyors of brands try to push onto us. As consumers we want to know if something is what it says it is, and if it does what it says it does. But we're not responsible for boycotting fake goods.
cwhite at 10:48 PM JST - 26th October

and how many years can you have an IP on a handbag?

just to let you know when you do borrow a CD from Tsutaya the price includes the right to copy it as they assume you will do so. Thus they sell blank CD's and Mini-disks at the counter.
dennis0bauer at 04:42 PM JST - 29th October

ptolemy you must live here are long time i agree!