模仿还是不模仿?孰是孰非?
Let me start this article with a joke from the ceramic industry that is heard sometimes in USA or Mexico:
“In the Western World people believe in copy rights, In China people believe that copy is right”
Although it is a short paragraph and just a simple change of a word the meaning has a lot of depth.
以我常在美国和墨西哥听到的一个关于陶瓷行业的玩笑说起:在西方,人们相信版权;而在中国,人们相信模仿(“In the Western World people believe in copy rights, In China people believe that copy is right.” 利用“right”一词多义的文字游戏)。虽然这只是一个短句子,但改变了一个单词,意义深度却完全不同。
In our Industry we have been always trying to copy natural stones or natural woods as an example and offer an economic product with certain advantages over the natural in respect to maintenance or appearance. This is perfectly right and will always keep happening.
以陶瓷行业一直模仿天然石材和木材为例,我们可以从而创造一款更具经济价值的产品,在外观和维护上都更优胜于自然的材料。这是绝对正确的做法,大家会在这方面一直持续去努力。
But when copying is not right is when it is done with a completely lack of moral and start harming the company or companies that you are taking advantage of.
但是有一种模仿则是不正确的,就是你没有道德地损害其他公司,并从中获得利益的时候。
A good and simple example is all the expensive watches like Rolex or Cartier, The purses like Gucci and Dior or the fake IPhones that are copied.
举个简单的例子,昂贵的手表如劳力士或者卡地亚,皮具如古驰或者迪奥,乃至被人复制模仿的苹果手机。
You really start affecting the sales, image of the other companies when you do this in some way.
And our industry has the same problem, some say it is happening in a big way and some others say it is just part of the game.
当你以某种方式开始模仿时,你实际上已经在影响其他公司的销售和形象。我们的行业也存在这样的问题,有人说到处都这样,也有人说这是游戏规则的一部分。
In reality in our industry it has been happening since I have memory. When I lived in USA or Mexico we were always attending ceramic fairs in Spain or Italy, or USA and Brazil and also going to different factories and showrooms to find products that we could commercialize by buying them there or by trying to reproduce them with our own identity.
现实中,自我有记忆开始我们行业就存在这类问题。我在美国和墨西哥工作的时候经常到西班牙、意大利、美国和巴西等地参加陶瓷展会,也会到访不同的工厂和展厅搜集产品,我们通过采购实现商业合作,又或者自己尝试再生产。
I think it is perfectly fair when you try to produce something by getting inspired by a popular selling product and you come up with your own somehow differentiated product.
当你从一个畅销的产品中获取灵感,并且尝试生产出来,并获得不一样的产品,我认为这是十分公平的。
But when it is not 100% right is when you produce an exact replica of the existing product, even though it may be fair game to be honest with you if you do so. There is not really a law that may protect you as the first and original manufacturer that I am aware of. And the law may not even allow you to trademark your product so it may not be copied, unless it is something extremely special and innovative with new technology, but unfortunately most of the time it is just a product that looks good and similar to a natural stone or wood.
但是,当你完全复制一个现有的产品时,我不认为是百分百正确的。尽管它可能是一个合理的做法。我明白没有一条真正的法律能够保护第一个生产者或是原创的生产商。法律甚至可能不让你注册产品从而令它不被复制,除非这个产品非常非常特别,或是利用了非常创新的技术。但是很遗憾,很多时候瓷砖产品只是外观更好看,或者与石材、木材非常相似。
What is wrong that I have seen quite often is when you see identical copies of your decos or products at other companies or even the exact same pages of your catalog with no changes whatsoever except the code number change (Not even the pictures, the arrangement of them, simply the exact same)
I guess the only satisfaction you get when you see this is that maybe your products are appreciated and ell liked and that is a good signed because they think they are GOOD. Also, maybe you should get a little worried when none of your products are being copied or tried to be reproduced.
什么是不正确的呢,就是我经常发现当你在别的公司看到与自己公司一模一样的配件或者产品,甚至完全相同的图册目录的时候,除了编码其他什么都没有改变(包括图片、排版都完全一样)。我认为唯一可以自我安慰的是,你的产品被大众欣赏及接受,这表示他们认为这些产品真的很好。甚至当你的产品没有被模仿或者跟随的话,你还会有一点点担心。
What do you think then? Is Copy right or wrong? What is valid and what is not?
你的想法是怎样呢?模仿是对还是错?什么是正当的,什么不是呢?
All I know for certain is that it will always exist and that clearly determines who are the leaders and who are the followers of our industry.
我们可以肯定的是,模仿永远存在,它清楚地划分在这个行业里,谁是领导者,谁是追随者。
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