Knockoff News 44
A weekly (or thereabouts) collection of news about counterfeits, fakes, knockoffs, replicas, imitations, and the culture of copying in general around the globe:
- Disemvoweled: MY MUI loses trademark challenge from Prada's MIU MIU line
- Strategic design: New Prada leatherwork "deliberately harder to copy"
- Cardinal sin: Abusive priest replaced boy's expensive jewelry with cheap knockoff
- The party's over: Police target private homes in anti-fake fight
- Homeland Security: Anti-terror agency protects US from fake clothes
- Christmas caution: Mounted Police warn Canadians of spreading counterfeit peril
- Tet offensive: Vietnamese New Year sparks increase in counterfeit goods
- Risky business: Police on the lookout for online sellers of fakes
- Broken glass: Cinderella Shoes busted in raid
- New York City landlords on the line
- Trash talk: NYC Marketing team scores with authentic Sanitation gear
- Charge! San Diego's on-field success spurs counterfeit sales
- Cut it out: Wrestler sues over trademark (?) hand gesture
- Square root of all evil: Designer uses equation tee to circumvent trademark claim
- Ironic: Chinese bootleggers "trademark" pirate goods
- French-style penalties on fake-buying tourists could transform China's counterfeit market
- Toy story: GM wins infringement case over copycat Hummer toy model
- Off the mark: LA Times claims Eames chair enjoys unique trade dress protection
- Police report
And here's one for those of you engaged in reverse holiday decorating, whether that involves dragging a tree to the curb and picking needles out of the rug or packing up a plastic pine until next year:
While much of the evergreen debate centers on the environment -- the old renewable resources versus reusable goods thing -- the tree farmers aren't exactly subtle when it comes to their opinion of the artificial versions:
The Web site of the National Christmas Tree Association refers to some fake trees as "big green toilet bowl brushes." The group has also started distributing an online game called "Attack of the Mutant Artificial Trees," where kids can vaporize garishly colored conifers by pelting them with virtual snowballs.
And you thought fashion bloggers were snarky.
