世界遭遇中國山寨難題

“你認爲哪個是真的Beats耳機，哪個是山寨貨？”這是英國少年傑克•吉爾伯特在一段視頻裏的旁白。他在YouTube的TechFusions頻道發佈了這段視頻，Beats耳機就是說唱歌星Dr. Dre戴的那種非常昂貴的耳機。吉爾伯特和這段視頻裏的嘉賓最後總結說，這兩款耳機看起來幾乎一模一樣。

"We want to know what you think is the real or the replica Beats," says the voice off camera, belonging to Jack Gilbert, a British teen hosting a segment on his YouTube channel, TechFusions. He's talking about Beats by Dr. Dre luxury headphones. Gilbert and his co-host conclude that they look almost identical.

視頻中黑色的那個耳機價值430美元，它也深受勒布朗•詹姆斯和賈斯汀•比伯等明星的喜愛。另一個白色的耳機只值90美元。對於總價值可能高達480億美元的“山寨機海”來說，它只能算是其中的一滴水罷了。

The black pair on screen goes for $430 and is worn by the likes of LeBron James and Justin Bieber. The other is white, costs $90 and is part of a $48 billion problem.

山寨是一個全球性的問題，而且這個問題已經存在很多年了。但是科技的發展使這個問題愈演愈烈，而且嚴重惡化，背後原因可管窺一斑。在那段視頻結尾，吉爾伯特和另一個主持人對那些想買正版Beats耳機的人警告說，儘量不要在eBay上購買。

Counterfeiting is a global issue and has been for years. Technology has just made it worse, much worse. And here's a clue as to why. Gilbert and his co-host sign off with a warning to viewers that want to buy a real pair -- avoid buying on eBay (EBAY). "That's a massive mistake lots of people make. Because a lot of the time they think it's real, but actually, they're not," says Gilbert.

科技的發展使賣山寨產品的商家有了理直氣壯要高價的機會，同時互聯網也使山寨產品的銷售變得更容易了。打造一個貌似口碑不錯的網站是件很容易的事，這是在紐約運河街賣手機和蘋果配件的商家永遠都不能比的。而且有些“克隆”網站也經常讓消費者上當，讓他們以爲自己以很低的價錢買到了正品。

Technology has given counterfeiters the ability to make convincing electronic rip-offs -- fast -- while the Internet has made it easier to buy counterfeit products. Websites can be made to look reputable in a way that a sleazy middleman selling Air Phones and Apple-a-likes on Canal Street never could. And doppelganger websites frequently dupe customers into thinking they're getting the real deal, even at a fraction of the price.

紐約城市大學（City University of New Yor）的教授艾倫•齊默爾曼曾經撰寫過大量關於山寨產品的文章，他指出：“山寨是一個非常暴利的行業。可以以很低的成本進入這個行業，而且就算哪天被抓住了，受罰的成本與其它違法行爲相比也是很低的。”他還表示，海關和邊檢部門幾乎無法阻止山寨的泛濫。根據齊默爾曼的計算，全球海關部門大概只截貨了所有進口山寨商品的十分之一。

"It's a very profitable business," says Alan Zimmerman, a professor at The City University of New York who's written extensively about the impact of counterfeit goods on companies and the economy. "You can get into business at very low cost, and the penalties if you get caught are very small compared to other illegal activities." He adds that it's almost impossible for Customs and Border Protection to stop the problem. Zimmerman has calculated that customs agencies worldwide seize approximately one-tenth of one percent of total imports.

在去年美國海關和邊防檢查部門截獲的山寨產品中，有84%來自中國大陸或香港。經常幫助各大品牌打擊山寨產品的律師路易斯•費歐徹鮑姆把中國稱爲生產山寨商品的“狂野西部”，並表示中國政府沒有持續地打擊山寨產品，保護知識產權。

Eighty-four percent of counterfeit goods seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2012 came from China or Hong Kong. Louis Feuchtbaum, a lawyer who helps brands fight fakes, refers to China as the "wild west for manufacturing counterfeit products." He describes a government that fails to consistently deter counterfeits and enforce intellectual property rights.

隨着技術的推陳出新，許多之前的型號也漸漸過時，那麼各大品牌是否還有必要花時間打擊已經過時的山寨產品？對於這個問題，費歐徹鮑姆認爲：“這個問題並不因爲出了一款新產品就不存在了。”首先，山寨廠商的動作也很快。最近他的一個客戶打算推出一款新產品，但正品尚未推出，山寨貨就已經上市了。另外許多公司在銷售新品的同時，也會繼續折價銷售老款產品。因此，費歐徹鮑姆說：“山寨給各大品牌帶來的損害一直存在。”他還表示，山寨產品還可能使消費者面臨潛在危險，比如電池爆炸或其它原因引起的火災都是常見風險。

With new innovations rendering previous models obsolete, should brands spend their time fighting outdated counterfeits? "The problem doesn't go away merely because there's a new product," says Feuchtbaum. For one thing, counterfeiters act fast. One of his clients recently had a product counterfeited before it even went onto the market. Older products also often remain in the supply chain as companies continue to sell different versions, with the older model at a discount. "Then there's the everlasting damage done to brands by counterfeits," he says, adding that fakes also put consumers in physical danger. He cites exploding batteries and other fire hazards as common risks.

雖然數碼產品的山寨市場規模很龐大，但還是比不上進入美國的山寨服飾。在2012年美國查獲的所有山寨商品中，服飾所佔的比重達到29%，電子產品只佔15%。福德漢姆大學（Fordham University）時尚法律與知識產權教授蘇珊•斯卡菲迪指出，山寨服飾的比重之所以超過山寨數碼產品，原因很簡單：“仿造一款手機需要的技術仍然比仿造一個手提包複雜。”

Despite the scale of the problem, there still seem to be fewer fake electronics than fake clothes and accessories reaching the U.S. Apparel and handbags represented 29% of all items seized in 2012 while 15% were electronics. Susan Scafidi, a professor in fashion law and intellectual property at Fordham University, says that the quantity of seized fashion goods still outstrips electronics for a simple reason: "It still takes more skill to craft a cellphone than to craft a handbag," says Scafidi.