I am interested in examples where a product was invented/created/designed by someone or some company in the US, only to have a foreign producer copy the design and manufacturer and sell the knock-off in the US. If you know of any examples, please tell us about it.

I'll explain why I'm asking. I proudly come from a long line of craftsmen, and occassionally I hear about small-scale US manufacturers getting screwed by imported knock-offs. Not good in my book. I'm trying to get a feel for how big of a problem this is.

Thanks,

Jef Denning

 

Simply walk into most any store and you will see that the preponderous amount of asian built products that they did not design or invent.

Companies such as WalMart or Harbor Freight carry most only knocked off goods.

 

Simply walk into most any store and you will see that the preponderous amount of asian built products that they did not design or invent.

Companies such as WalMart or Harbor Freight carry most only knocked off goods.

 

Then what do you do about it? ( other than not buy the knockoff)

 

Years ago I worked for black and decker in their test lab. We were doing a glue gun test when one of the older test engineers thought he recognized a competitors gun. He did a little digging. Turns out the glue gun came from an overseas factory that was set up by black and decker many years previously. The factory was abandoned by b@d as unsustainable. However, the natives decided to keep it going. So there we were, competing against a cheaper version of the very gun we'd created from an overseas plant we'd abandoned as worthless.

 

There was an article in golf digest not too long ago about golf club knock offd. Many of the factories that produce ping, ****, Calloway and the like during the day change the back molds and run knock offs at night. Pisses the manufacturers off because they spend tons of money in r&d only to have them knocked off. The article was trying to convince people not to buy knock offs but I think it helped sell the knock offs because it demonstrated that they were the same basic club but for hundreds less.

 

I'll bite......Harley Davidson!

 

A good example is that heat shield next to your inner thigh. I had met the inventor of the that product, or at least a similar product. He said he tried to sell it to Harley and they weren't interested...why...because a year or two later they came out with their own version and so did Kuryakyn. And I bet the HD part is made in China.

 

News story on tv the other night saying outlet malls sell knockoffs. If you want the real thing go to a Name brand retail store and pay premium price. That's news?

 

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