外資品牌在中國的艱難打假之路大綱
How are some foreign brands catching counterfeiters in China? By faking them out.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images2014年3月19日，香港，新秀麗在年度業績新聞發佈會上展示了幾款旅行箱。外資品牌如何在中國打假？答案是冒充買家。
Samsonite International, the world's largest luggage company by sales, says its investigators pose as buyers when they spot suspect products online in China. The investigators place a sizeable order in hopes of using the goods as evidence in a legal case against the counterfeiters, according to Paul Melkebeke, a Hong Kong-based vice president for the luggage firm.
全球銷售額最大的行李製造商新秀麗國際有限公司(Samsonite International, 簡稱：新秀麗)說，該公司調查人員在中國網絡上發現可疑產品後會充當買家。常駐香港的新秀麗副總裁Paul Melkebeke說，調查人員會大量訂貨，以期在針對假貨商的法律案件中將其用作證據。
The goal, said Mr. Melkebeke, is to trace the products 'all the way up the supply chain,' and shut down the factories making the counterfeit products.
Melkebeke表示，這一做法的目的是沿着供應鏈對產品追查到底，並關閉生產假貨的工廠。
Sometimes, the suspects get suspicious at the large order and ask questions. But if the sale goes through, and Samsonite determines the products are fake, it turns them over to the Chinese police. The police may take weeks to months to untangle the web of distributors and suppliers for the products.
有時可疑商家會對大額訂單起疑心並問問題。但若交易順利實現，且新秀麗確定產品爲假貨，則公司會把產品轉交給中國警方。警方或花上數週到幾個月的時間來搗毀假貨的銷售及供應網。
'The jackpot is hitting a counterfeit underground factory with a gigantic value of goods' because it can take the fraudsters out of commission for months to years, said Philip Fung, managing director at Emmaus, which helps brands protect their intellectual property.
幫助各品牌保護知識產權的Emmaus公司董事總經理Philip Fung說，最好的結果是能找到一家涉及貨物價值龐大的假貨地下工廠，因爲這樣一來假貨商數月甚至數年無貨可售。
For brand owners, if they're seen as being aggressive against counterfeiters -- from pulling down the listings on Chinese e-commerce platforms to coordinating with police to raid factories -- the fraudsters will often move onto easier targets.
如果品牌所有者採取積極的打假行動（包括迫使中國電商平臺下架假貨以及與警方合作打擊假貨工廠），造假者通常就會把目標轉向更容易的對象。
'It's a long term battle,' said Bruno Feltracco, a Hong Kong-based managing director for VF Corp., whose brands include The North Face and Vans. 'We need to show them we are relentless.'
威富集團(VF Corp.)駐香港董事總經理費寶樂(Bruno Feltracco)說：“這將是一場長期戰鬥，需要讓他們知道我們是不會鬆懈的。”該集團旗下的品牌包括The North Face、Vans等。
What brands are most concerned about are not the cheap knockoffs of their product. Instead, the closer in quality -- and price -- the knockoffs are to the genuine products, the more the counterfeit goods chip away at the company's sales, say analysts.
品牌商們最擔心的並不是那些價格低廉、質量粗糙的仿冒品。分析師們稱，仿冒品在質量和價格上越接近正品，品牌商的銷售受到的衝擊就越大。
To cope, foreign brands are getting more sophisticated in their battle against fakes. Companies are increasingly analyzing which parts of their supply chain are most vulnerable to counterfeiters, and who has access to their product designs, according to Violet Ho, a senior managing director for investigative-services firm Kroll.
面對這一情況，外資品牌打擊假冒產品的手段日趨成熟。調查服務公司Kroll高級董事總經理Violet Ho稱，品牌廠商們開始加強分析工作，研究供應鏈中哪些環節最薄弱，容易受到山寨廠商的衝擊，以及誰可以看到它們的產品設計等。
'There are a lot of things you can do beyond saying, here is a fake,' said Ms. Ho.
Ho說，除了公開指出“這是假冒產品”之外，企業還有許多事情可以做。
In China, folding-bicycle-maker Dahon says its investigators wear wigs to avoid recognition by counterfeiters and also hire witnesses to tag along when they buy the counterfeit bicycles.
摺疊自行車生產商大行(Dahon)表示，在中國，公司的調查人員去購買山寨的大行摺疊自行車時會戴着假髮，以免被造假者認出來，同時還會僱用目擊證人跟隨。
'To go to court and present this as evidence, you have to have a formal receipt and the transaction has to be witnessed' by a public notary, said David Hon, chief executive of Dahon, based in Duarte, Calif.
大行的首席執行長韓德瑋(David Hon)說，如果公司上法院起訴並把這件商品作爲物證，必須有一張正式發票，整個交易過程也要有目擊證人作公證。
Even so, things don't always go as planned. Many businesses in China don't issue receipts, according to Mr. Hon, and if the buyer insists, they will get suspicious. So it's a fine balancing act trying to gather evidence while not tipping off the buyers, he said.
即便如此，事情也並不總會按照計劃發展。韓德瑋說，在中國，許多商家是不開發票的，如果買家堅持要開，他們就會起疑心。他說，所以調查人員要精心權衡，在嘗試收集證據的同時不能驚動其他買家。
