Michelle McCliman Intellectual Property Law Blog on Lawyers.com

China Now Is Knocking Off Fine Wines

Thursday, January 19, 2012 by Michelle McCliman

Photo of Michelle McCliman

Well, I guess it was just a matter of time until the resourceful
knock off artists targeted high end wines.  Given that China's upwardly
mobile citizens are quick to show off their new wealth and supposed
sophistication.  The Chinese are apparently using their new wealth to
consume imported wine and other luxuries.  This, in turn, has led
foreign producers into looking to unlock the lucrative Chinese market. 
According to the Wine Institute, China is the fifth largest foreign
market for wines.  Even Yao Ming, the former NBA basketball star, is
getting into the wine business by importing a Napa Valley Cabernet that
retails for almost $ 300 a bottle. 

 

All of this opens the way for knock off artists.  The
Chinese market is particularly vulnerable to the knock offs because the
allure is more about the label and less about the way the wine pairs
with the meal.  As relatively newcomers to the higher end wines, the
Chinese in general have a less well developed palate.  Also helping the
counterfeiters is China's inconsistent enforcement (that is no
surprise).  

 

You have to give it to the counterfeiters. 
They found a weakness in the consuming public, in enforcement, and an
easy way to knock off high end wines.  The two primary ways that the
counterfeiters do their work is to purchase or obtain emptied bottles of
high end wines and refilling them or tweaking the label slightly.  Not
much different than the way they counterfeit almost anything else.  So,
when in China, be careful when ordering that imported wine.  
 
Posted at 10:57 AM
Topic: Intellectual Property
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