Klipsch Sues China Manufacturers Over Counterfeit Headphones

[admin]

Klipsch Group, Inc. (KGI), the parent company behind Klipsch, Energy, Mirage and Jamo declared war today, in the form of legal action, against 23 Chinese manufacturers selling counterfeit Klipsch Image S4 and Klipsch Image S4i headphones under the Klipsch brand name. On December 16, 2011, the company received an order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York allowing the suspension of service to domains and sellers on trade boards selling counterfeit Klipsch headphones. In addition, the order allows for restraint on funds in the payment processing and bank accounts of those selling the counterfeit products.

Discuss "Klipsch Sues China Manufacturers Over Counterfeit Headphones" here. Read the article.

 

[its phillip]

Good luck. I don't think anything will happen though.

 

[Wayde Robson]

Apparently counterfeit is de rigueur in China.

 

[Jason626]

China's model: The world invents, we produce and steal your technology.

 

[dkane360]

China's model: The world invents, we produce and steal your technology.

They dont steal the technology, just the look so they can sell it to unsuspecting people.

 

[j_garcia]

They dont steal the technology, just the look so they can sell it to unsuspecting people.

Except that this still hurts the profits of the product they are copying. In this case, it seems they are actually using the real company name (usually they modify it to look/sound similar) which is even worse because they could sell a POS with the real name on it, diluting the brand.

 

[dkane360]

Except that this still hurts the profits of the product they are copying. In this case, it seems they are actually using the real company name (usually they modify it to look/sound similar) which is even worse because they could sell a POS with the real name on it, diluting the brand.

Yep, Klipsch has had a lot of problems with it. Their forums have a few threads on how to spot the fakes I believe.

 

[SunnyD]

China couldn't give a rats @ss what American courts say. Like from the movie Taken, "Good Luck".

 

[markw]

Where are the "real" Klipsch products manufactured?

 

[adwilk]

Where are the "real" Klipsch products manufactured?

Exactly- and frankly thats part of the problem. (I don't know for sure that Klipsch's stuff is made in China, per se, but point taken.)

I remember working on the Cleveland Golf tour van and being asked to bend a club for a guy. Looking at and mounting it in the bending machine I never would have known it was a fake. It broke very easily when I tried to move it- something an authentic product would have never done. Asked him where he got them- ebay.

If you buy something new, always buy it from an authorized reseller. What sucks is that Americans are just as greedy as the chinese cause we're the ones buying the junk to save a few bucks.

 

[SunnyD]

. What sucks is that Americans are just as greedy as the chinese cause we're the ones buying the junk to save a few bucks.

Yup. Everyone knows you don't go to china town for real fendi and louis vuitton pocket books.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I recently bought S4's from Amazon. Mine are the real deal though - I think...

 

[Rickster71]

"Jeffrey Immelt, the head of Barack Obama’s highly touted “Jobs Council”, is moving even more GE infrastructure to China....GE has announced that it “is moving the headquarters of its 115-year-old X-ray business to Beijing”.
White House Jobs Czar, GE CEO Immelt Moves Jobs to China | West Orlando News Online 2011® Central Florida News, Info, Sports
"The last GE factory in the U.S. that made light bulbs closed last September. The transition to the new CFL light bulbs was supposed to create a whole bunch of those “green jobs” that Barack Obama keeps talking about, but as an article in the Washington Post noted, that simply is not happening…."

 

[agarwalro]

Klipsch, I'ma gonna let you finish, but, Fake Apple Store totally deserves to win the infringement suit.

Talking of which, why hasn't Apple made any heads roll for those stores?

 

[smurphy522]

Best of luck Klipsch

I truly hope they are successful. However with a Govt. backed (turning a blind eye at least) Manuf. operation these companies continue to prosper and expand. If they are punished it will be a slap on the wrist and will just likely move onto counterfeiting something else.

The old adage "If it's too good to be true....." certainly applies here.

Unfortunately many of the buyers are probably not aware of the counterfeit status - especially if they are getting it from a purportedly legit on line vendor.

Of course a intelligent or savvy consumer would (or should) check the Klipsch website prior to making the purchase to see if they are listed as an approved vendor.

 

[Pyrrho]

I recently bought S4's from Amazon. Mine are the real deal though - I think...

If you buy from Amazon, and not one of the third party vendors who sell through them, I would think you are likely to be okay, as they probably really don't want to get sued over such practices, and it would be bad for business generally.

Anyway, I hope Klipsch is successful in stopping this problem, as it is very bad for consumers to not know what it is that they are buying. It also obviously hurts Klipsch, as it makes the resale value of the products worse, as some people will just not buy used products due to a concern about whether the thing is legitimate or not. And used prices do matter, as some people plan on selling their gear when they upgrade.

As things are, I strongly recommend that one only buy new products of any brand from authorized dealers, or you may end up getting a fake. And obviously manufacturers are not going to cover any repairs for a fake.

 

[jinjuku]

The other classic is people wondering if their Audio Quest cables from Hong Kong are counterfeit. The obvious retort: Should you you be able to hear the difference? Then a fight breaks out.

On a more serious note we have a custom developed Ethernet enabled relay that we have built in the USA. Soon as you contract with a Chinese manufacturer it's copied.

Cisco had the same thing happen and the big problem is this is going into mission critical applications such as health and military. Not to mention the espionage potential of having the firmware 'tweaked' by the Chinese government.

On of my favorite sayings: In Africa they are masters at corruption. The Chinese? They go on to get their Doctorate.

 

[markw]

Soon as you contract with a Chinese manufacturer it's copied.

This was what I was hinting at in my earlier post. They don't need industrial espionage. We willingly hand them everything they need to steal from us.

 

[Jason626]

They dont steal the technology, just the look so they can sell it to unsuspecting people.

I'm not conviced they don't steal technology. Look at all the hackers hacking into our government, businesses and internet phishing scams. Most originate from china. Even video gamers have to watch out. xD

 

[Rickster71]

Yup. Everyone knows you don't go to china town for real fendi and louis vuitton pocket books.

OK......just try to explain that to Alex and Doug when they have their shop on.