Fake coutts cues website

[ADR147]

This is no ordinary knock off.....

1) They have a registered company in China named UK Lincoln Dave Coutts Industrial Ltd. 英國林肯戴夫庫茨實業有限公司
2) They already have distributors in China - in Beijing and Nanjing
3) They have put up a declaration of ownership of the "Dave Coutts" brand and products and purportedly registered this at the customs office
4) They are issuing "certifications of authenticity" with every cue they ship

Louise, my advice would be to go straight to Chinese customs http://english.customs.gov.cn/publish/portal191/ for inquiries and potentially lodging a complaint. While this will take time and they will give you a runaround, it would possibly be more effective (and save you money) than via going through lawyers. The legal system in China is a bit different, lawyers are bit actors within the system and decision-making or arbitration rests with the enforcement unit - which in this case would be Customs

In parallel, you can also contact the British Chamber of Commerce in Beijing (HQ) to help you out http://www.britishchamber.cn/ with going to Chinese Customs (I'm sure there have been other cases of "company/brand invasion" for British firms in China so they'll be able to give you actionable advice on how to deal with it); and of course the British Consulate.

Hope this helps and best of luck

it's a disgrace. but as has been pointed out they make an identical version of the bmw x5 and nobody stops them.

[narl]

Theres virtually zero copyright laws in China it seems, knockoff capital of the planet with a government that couldn't give a toss.

[SouthPaw]

I remember reading in another forum that they had fake Apple stores in China(replica i pads/i phones...) which were identical in every way to real McCoy, though the difference being there, they have hundreds of thousands to waste on legal costs etc...

[Maxsys]

Happened to my company, some local registered our company name in English, but did not register in any of the Chinese translations, s0 we registered all of the Chinese variants, in China through a Chinese lawyer, seems to have had an effect but i don't know for how long, the place is a pain to deal in and with.

[louise sheldon]

usually ups

That will be great! Many thanks Lousie. I called Dave on Monday he said will be about £18. Can you tell me which carrier you are using Dave told me but I forgot it. I will send my cue in two days with a note. I posted on one chinese forum(biggest) and wil post as much as possible.
Here is the link:http://www.mysnooker.cn/bbs/topic64830.html

[arbitrage]

the bmw case is an imitation of a product with a different brand name - in that respect there is scant protection in china...

http://www.businessinsider.com/hilar...ds-2012-8?op=1

however, in more clear cut cases of brand invasion (and i think directly taking over the "dave coutts" brand constitutes that), customs will act - if there is enough heat....

http://www.apparellogisticsgroup.com...ics-China.aspx

[ADR147]

the bmw case is an imitation of a product with a different brand name - in that respect there is scant protection in china...

http://www.businessinsider.com/hilar...ds-2012-8?op=1

however, in more clear cut cases of brand invasion (and i think directly taking over the "dave coutts" brand constitutes that), customs will act - if there is enough heat....

http://www.apparellogisticsgroup.com...ics-China.aspx

some of those are so bad it's not true.

[haggishunter]

the bmw case is an imitation of a product with a different brand name - in that respect there is scant protection in china...

http://www.businessinsider.com/hilar...ds-2012-8?op=1

however, in more clear cut cases of brand invasion (and i think directly taking over the "dave coutts" brand constitutes that), customs will act - if there is enough heat....

http://www.apparellogisticsgroup.com...ics-China.aspx

Some of those are incredible, the 'nintentdo polystation' with Namco branding on the bottom, wtf? Unbelievable, when the other post mentioned the fake apple store i remember reading about the fake costa coffee shops and then this link had a fake starbucks. Nuts, just nuts.

[philip in china]

Of course we are all naively assuming the Chinese is the fake site and the English one is the real one........

You don't know the meaning of the word fake until you live here. Somebody I knew was looking at buying quantities of power tools. If you bought more than a certain number you could have whatever colour you wanted for the plastic case. Above another quantity and manufacturer would mould whatever name you wanted into the plastic.

[Tony Ng]

Shameful! Will post the info on Hong Kong some snooker discuss place......

[Tony Ng]

Shameful!

http://news.top147.com/2012/11/00003048.shtml

http://www.couttscues.com/

[ADR147]

i like they way they claim dave coutts lincoln is a registered trademark!

[louise sheldon]

not quite sure what you are implying here, i have been making cues and had a website for couttscues since 1999, although have been making cues for much longer, so how you can imply the chinese is the original is down right ignorant

Of course we are all naively assuming the Chinese is the fake site and the English one is the real one........

You don't know the meaning of the word fake until you live here. Somebody I knew was looking at buying quantities of power tools. If you bought more than a certain number you could have whatever colour you wanted for the plastic case. Above another quantity and manufacturer would mould whatever name you wanted into the plastic.

[culraven]

Pretty sure he was joking, hence the smiley face.

[perpetualboredom]

not quite sure what you are implying here, i have been making cues and had a website for couttscues since 1999, although have been making cues for much longer, so how you can imply the chinese is the original is down right ignorant

Although obviously a stressful time for you, have another read and see if you think they might not have been serious...