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design219 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:39 PM

Amazon.com: Touch Screen 2.8" inch LCD MP4 player 2 GB. Video, music, game, recorder, etc. all-in-one: Electronics

This is amazing (and sad) that this is already available. It seems to be more modeled on the iPhone, but still.

voodoo · Sep 5, 2007, 08:54 PM

This seems to be the price that Apple has to pay for cheap Chinese labor.

Copyright on designs -- or anything for that matter -- is such a fuzzy concept in the far east.

V

- - e r i k - - · Sep 5, 2007, 09:35 PM

Could this be the problem?

In order to qualify for copyright protection [in China], foreign copyright owners must meet one of the following requirements:

Their works must first be published in China prior to publication in other jurisdictions.
The author must be a national or a resident of a jurisdiction, which is in accordance with an international treaty or an agreement, of which both countries are the signatories.
Where a foreign work is first published in a member country of a treaty to which China is also a member.

Sure, nothing's stopping the copycats from bringing their copies to the market first, but would Apple be actually protected by Chinese copyright laws under those terms to further sue for damage?

All theoretically of course, since Apple may judge these cheap knockoffs to be just a mere nuisance.

Moonray · Sep 5, 2007, 09:42 PM

Date first available at Amazon.com: July 30, 2007

How come the copy was there before the original?

-

irunat2am · Sep 5, 2007, 09:46 PM

That was just not sexy.

monkeybrain · Sep 5, 2007, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

Copyright on designs -- or anything for that matter -- is such a fuzzy concept in the far east.

V

I think you should really be more specific. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are not in the business of making cheap knockoffs generally (yes they do it, but not really more so than any other countries). It is China and basically only China you are thinking of.

voodoo · Sep 5, 2007, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by monkeybrain

I think you should really be more specific. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are not in the business of making cheap knockoffs generally (yes they do it, but not really more so than any other countries). It is China and basically only China you are thinking of.

Oh they aren't above making cheap knock-offs.

V

Wiskedjak · Sep 5, 2007, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

This seems to be the price that Apple has to pay for cheap Chinese labor.

Copyright on designs -- or anything for that matter -- is such a fuzzy concept in the far east.

V

Actually, it's virtually impossible to copyright an industrial design, even in North America. The knock-off has to be virtually 100% identical. This one clearly is not identical.

voodoo · Sep 5, 2007, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

Actually, it's virtually impossible to copyright an industrial design, even in North America. The knock-off has to be virtually 100% identical. This one clearly is not identical.

Apple sure managed to knock out eMachines back when they introduced the iMac clone. Something can clearly be done in North America.

V

goMac · Sep 5, 2007, 11:10 PM

Wouldn't it more likely be an iPhone MP3 player clone, and not really an iPod Touch clone? You notice they have a hole where the earpiece should be.

turtle777 · Sep 6, 2007, 02:35 AM

Originally Posted by Moonray

How come the copy was there before the original?

It wasn't exactly a secret that the iPod touch (modeled after the iPhone) would come out sooner or later.

And last time I checked, the iPhone was introduced in Jan 07.

-t

Chuckit · Sep 6, 2007, 03:05 AM

Originally Posted by voodoo

Oh they aren't above making cheap knock-offs.

Neither is any other country, but it isn't a particularly prominent phenomenon.

Big Mac · Sep 6, 2007, 03:23 AM

I'm surprised this made its way to Amazon. But I guess they'll sell just about anything.

design219 · Sep 6, 2007, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

I'm surprised this made its way to Amazon. But I guess they'll sell just about anything.

Yeah, the Amazon thing bugs me. I've always thought of them as a reputable seller and have purchased a few things from them. I would think they would have some standards of what and who they will represent.

Mastrap · Sep 6, 2007, 09:40 AM

amazon is becoming more like ebay by the day. You can sell pretty much anything these days.

Chuckit · Sep 6, 2007, 09:53 AM

Amazon is a good place, but they don't exactly screen every single item their third-party vendors are selling. I don't really expect them to. If a visitor has a problem with a vendor's product, he can report it to Amazon.

voodoo · Sep 6, 2007, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Neither is any other country, but it isn't a particularly prominent phenomenon.

Nonsense. Cheap imitations and infringements on design are notoriously rare in Europe. Speak for yourself and your country. Korea and Japan are no angels when it comes to cheap knock-offs. China is the master. All are in the far east.

V

analogika · Sep 6, 2007, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

Nonsense. Cheap imitations and infringements on design are notoriously rare in Europe. Speak for yourself and your country. Korea and Japan are no angels when it comes to cheap knock-offs. China is the master. All are in the far east.

V

I'm not sure which Japan you're talking about, but the one in Asia hasn't really been in the cheap knock-off business since before you were still pissing in your diapers.

Kevin · Sep 6, 2007, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

China is the master. All are in the far east.

I hate to agree with him, but as far as Guitars go China is the WORST at making cheap copies. Then trying to sell them on Ebay as originals.

Gibson really got Ebay's panties in a bundle about it and now it rarely happens.

All of these problems guitars, all of them were ALWAYS Chinese made.

Having said that

Originally Posted by analogika

I'm not sure which Japan you're talking about, but the one in Asia hasn't really been in the cheap knock-off business since before you were still pissing in your diapers.

It's true. Japan makes some QUALITY non-knock-off stuff. Electronics and other items.

They are the only country that can mass-produce guitars as well as the US as far as quality goes.

voodoo · Sep 6, 2007, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin

I hate to agree with him, but as far as Guitars go China is the WORST at making cheap copies. Then trying to sell them on Ebay as originals.

Peh you secretly *love* to agree with me

V

voodoo · Sep 6, 2007, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

I'm not sure which Japan you're talking about, but the one in Asia hasn't really been in the cheap knock-off business since before you were still pissing in your diapers.

It seems the whole of Prussia just can't get out of the Freudian anal-stage. So childishly predictable.

V

Chuckit · Sep 6, 2007, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

Nonsense. Cheap imitations and infringements on design are notoriously rare in Europe. Speak for yourself and your country. Korea and Japan are no angels when it comes to cheap knock-offs. China is the master. All are in the far east.

Cheap imitations and infringements on design are notoriously rare in Japan. Speak for yourself and your country. (I've never been to Korea and only know a few people who have, so I'm not going to defend them blindly, but I don't think they do it very much either.)

voodoo · Sep 6, 2007, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Cheap imitations and infringements on design are notoriously rare in Japan. Speak for yourself and your country. (I've never been to Korea and only know a few people who have, so I'm not going to defend them blindly, but I don't think they do it very much either.)

Perhaps. However, I said *the far east* and I stand by that claim. Give or take a country or two, it makes no difference.

I do perceive more imitations being made in Japan than in Western Europe any day.

China is king of course, and encompassess most of the far east.

V

analogue SPRINKLES · Sep 6, 2007, 03:31 PM

I'll never understand people who buy crap like this.

Kevin · Sep 7, 2007, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by voodoo

Perhaps. However, I said *the far east* and I stand by that claim. Give or take a country or two, it makes no difference.

I do perceive more imitations being made in Japan than in Western Europe any day.

China is king of course, and encompassess most of the far east.

V

In other words, voodoo will never admit he was wrong about anything. Still the same old school voodoo.

Japan is out of the copying biz. They've moved on. China is still doing it however.

That is what they are trying to tell you voodoo. I'll agree with you that China does it. But I've simply not had seen any Japan knock-offs of anything lately.

monkeybrain · Sep 7, 2007, 11:21 PM

More imitations are made in other regions than Western Europe because hardly anything is made in Western Europe anymore.

torsoboy · Sep 8, 2007, 12:14 AM

The Philippines is also very big into copied items. You can go to an outdoor market, find a place that sells jeans and pick the brand you want that set of jeans to be... you just pick the logo/patch and they stick it on the right spot for you. Video games and movies are VERY inexpensive over there.... when I was there in 2000 they had DVDs, PS games and Dreamcast games at 3 for $10. They also have DVDs (or VCDs, they seemed to like those for some reason) out for sale before the movies made it to the theaters. It seems to be an Asian thing, but that may just be due to my limited amount of travel experience.