外资品牌在中国的艰难打假之路

How are some foreign brands catching counterfeiters in China? By faking them out.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images2017年3月19日，香港，新秀丽在年度业绩资讯发布会上展示了几款旅行箱。外资品牌如何在中国打假？答案是冒充买家。

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.

全球销售额最大的行李制造商新秀丽国际有限公司(Samsonite International, 简称：新秀丽)说，该公司调查人员在中国网络上发现可疑产品后会充当买家。常驻香港的新秀丽副总裁Paul Melkebeke说，调查人员会大量订货，以期在针对假货商的法律案件中将其用作证据。

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，这一做法的目的是沿着供应链对产品追查到底，并关闭生产假货的工厂。

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.

有时可疑商家会对大额订单起疑心并问问题。但若交易顺利实现，且新秀丽确定产品为假货，则公司会把产品转交给中国警方。警方或花上数周到几个月的时间来捣毁假货的销售及供应网。

'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.

帮助各品牌保护知识产权的Emmaus公司董事总经理Philip Fung说，最好的结果是能找到一家涉及货物价值庞大的假货地下工厂，因为这样一来假货商数月甚至数年无货可售。

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.

如果品牌所有者采取积极的打假行动（包括迫使中国电商平台下架假货以及与警方合作打击假货工厂），造假者通常就会把目标转向更容易的对象。

'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.'

威富集团(VF Corp.)驻香港董事总经理费宝乐(Bruno Feltracco)说：“这将是一场长期战斗，需要让他们知道我们是不会松懈的。”该集团旗下的品牌包括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.

品牌商们最担心的并不是那些价格低廉、质量粗糙的仿冒品。分析师们称，仿冒品在质量和价格上越接近正品，品牌商的销售受到的冲击就越大。

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.

面对这一情况，外资品牌打击假冒产品的手段日趋成熟。调查服务公司Kroll高级董事总经理Violet Ho称，品牌厂商们开始加强分析工作，研究供应链中哪些环节最薄弱，容易受到山寨厂商的冲击，以及谁可以看到它们的产品设计等。

'There are a lot of things you can do beyond saying, here is a fake,' said Ms. Ho.

Ho说，除了公开指出“这是假冒产品”之外，企业还有许多事情可以做。

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.

折叠自行车生产商大行(Dahon)表示，在中国，公司的调查人员去购买山寨的大行折叠自行车时会戴着假发，以免被造假者认出来，同时还会雇用目击证人跟随。

'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.

大行的首席执行长韩德玮(David Hon)说，如果公司上法院起诉并把这件商品作为物证，必须有一张正式发票，整个交易过程也要有目击证人作公证。

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，事情也并不总会按照计划发展。韩德玮说，在中国，许多商家是不开发票的，如果买家坚持要开，他们就会起疑心。他说，所以调查人员要精心权衡，在尝试收集证据的同时不能惊动其他买家。