我们如何定义“假冒”？

我一直对语言学非常感兴趣——从学习两门现代外国语达到A级，到大学写了一篇题目是“legalese（法律语言）”(比较法语和英语法律语言)的论文，作为我法学学位的一部分，再到另外一篇关于商标的翻译及音译的论文。

I have long been interested in language - from studying two modern foreign languages at A-level, to writing a dissertation at University as part of my Law degree on the topic of "legalese" (comparing the French and English legal languages), and another on the translation and transliteration of trade marks.

最近的一次网络研讨会让我思考我们要如何定义“counterfeit（假冒）”这个词，特别是当我们制定反假冒策略时，以及作为消费者时。如果是“复制品”或“仿冒品”呢? 这些算“假冒品”吗?

A recent webinar got me thinking about how we define the word "counterfeit", particularly when we are devising anti-counterfeiting strategies and also as consumers. What about a "replica" or "knock-off" product? Do these count as "counterfeits"?

从“假冒”开始，我从各种来源找到了一些最初看起来非常相似的定义(例如，所有的定义都特别提到商标或知识产权)，但经过仔细查看，它们却有一些有趣的差别：

Starting with "counterfeit", I found a few definitions from a variety of sources that initially appear quite similar (for example, all of the definitions specifically mention trade marks or IP) but upon closer inspection, they have some interesting differences:

• Meta（包含Instagram*1以及脸书*2等）的定义是：-“假冒商品是对另一家公司产品的仿制品或复制品。它通常复制其他公司产品的商标(名称或标志)和/或显著特征来摹仿正品”。

  Meta (Instagram*1 / Facebook*2 etc) - "A counterfeit good is a knock-off or replica version of another company's product. It usually copies the trademark (name or logo) and/or distinctive features of that other company's product to imitate a genuine product"

  
  

• 世界贸易组织（WTO）*3的定义是：-“未经授权，在与注册商标相同或者类似的商品上擅自使用注册商标，欺骗购买者，使其误认为购买的是原商品的”

  World Trade Organisation (WTO) *3 - "Unauthorized representation of a registered trademark carried on goods identical or similar to goods for which the trademark is registered, with a view to deceiving the purchaser into believing that he/she is buying the original goods"

  
  

• Wish Merchant*4的定义是：-“假冒商品被设计成与正品相似的样子。从视觉上看，假冒品可能看起来与正品几乎一模一样，但往往是用劣质材料制成的。假冒商品涉及未经授权使用品牌所有者的知识产权，通过使用品牌所有者的商标欺骗消费者，使其误以为自己购买的是正品”

  Wish Merchant*4 - "Counterfeit products are designed to resemble authentic products. Visually, counterfeit goods may look almost identical to the original authentic products, but often are made from low-quality materials. Counterfeit goods involve the unauthorized use of the intellectual property of a brand owner by using the brand owner’s trademarks to deceive consumers into believing they have purchased a genuine product"

  
  

• 女装日报（Women's Wear Daily）*5的定义是：-“本质上是一种与另一种产品相同的产品，因而侵犯了正品的商标。这些产品通常在网上、街角小巷出售”

  Women's Wear Daily*5 - "Essentially a product that is identical to another product, and thereby infringes upon the trademark of that product mark (trademark). These are typically sold online, and via street corner and back-alley vendors"

*1 https://help.instagram.com/499796697033328

*2 https://www.facebook.com/help/962020680598166

*3 https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/glossary_e/

counterfeit_e.htm

*4 https://merchanthelp.wish.com/s/article/mu12608-

01007010?language=en_US

*5 https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/counterfeit

-knockoff-replica-legal-10437109/

首先，在我看来最有趣的区别之一是，Meta对“假冒”的定义包括了“仿冒品”和“复制品”，以用来解释有问题的产品类型。然而，上述其他信息来源则相当严格地定义了这三个术语之间的区别。例如：

Firstly, one of the most interesting differences to me is that Meta's definition of "counterfeit" includes both "knock-off" and "replica" to explain the types of products in question. However, other sources quite strictly define a difference between these three terms. For example:

• Wish Merchant认为“仿冒”产品与“假冒”产品有很大不同-

  Wish Merchant considers that a "knock-off" product is quite different to a "counterfeit" product –

“仿冒品可能与品牌正品相似，但通常不会完全相同。仿冒产品不包含与原装正品相同的商标或标志。例如，仿冒品可能带有错拼的品牌名，消费者可能会明白他们买的不是正品”。

"...a knockoff can resemble a branded, authentic product, but generally will not be identical to it. Knockoff products do not contain identical trademarks or logos of the original product. For example, knockoff items may have misspellings of the brand name on the product and consumers may understand that they are not buying an authentic product"

• 女装日报（Women's Wear Daily）更进一步地将“复制品”和“仿冒品”分别定义如下：

  Women's Wear Daily goes a step further and separately defines both "replica" and "knock-off" as follows:

仿冒品：与其他商品相似但又不完全相同的产品。可以在网上和商店里找到，通常是在有信誉的零售商或品牌那里，通常比激发他们灵感的原版商品便宜。这并不违法，但可能会被设计灵感来源品牌在法庭上提出质疑。

Knockoff: A product that resembles another item, but isn’t exactly identical. Can be found online and in stores, often at reputable retailers or brands, usually at a cheaper price than the original items that inspired them. Not illegal, but can be challenged in court by the brand that inspired the design.

复制品: 这是仿冒者创造的一个相对较新的术语，用来在网上推销他们的产品。当复制品与现有商标完全相同时，它是非法的。但网上的有些产品……摹仿了一个设计，但又不是完全相同，因此类似于一个仿冒品。

Replica: A relatively new term coined by counterfeiters to promote their products online. When replicas are identical to existing marks, it is illegal. But there are offerings online...that resemble a design, but is not identical, therefore it is similar to a knockoff.

其次，只有两个“假冒”的定义提到了欺骗。世界贸易组织提到了有欺骗购买者的意图，使其误以为自己购买的是正品。Wish Merchant则指出使用品牌所有者的商标会“欺骗消费者，使其误以为自己购买的是正品”。

Secondly, only two of the definitions of "counterfeit" mention deception. The WTO refers to an intention to deceive a purchaser into believing that they are buying genuine products, and Wish Merchant states that using a brand owner's trade mark will "deceive consumers into believing they have purchased a genuine product".

一个有趣的问题浮现在我的脑海中:“仿冒品”或“复制品”(如果我们承认这三种商品是不同的)是否也具有欺骗性？Wish和女装日报提供的上述“仿冒品”和“复制品”的定义似乎暗示这些商品与正品相似，但又明显不同，比如缺少标识、拼写错误和更便宜的价格，这意味着消费者不会被欺骗而误以为这些商品是合法的正品。

An interesting question that springs to mind here is whether or not "knock-off" or "replica" products (if we accept that the three types of goods are different) are also deceptive. The definitions provided by Wish and Women's Wear Daily above for "knock-off" and "replica" seem to imply that these goods resemble a genuine product but that the clear differences such as missing logos, misspellings and cheaper price points mean that consumers are not deceived into believing that these goods are legitimate.

也许这就是关键的区别—“假冒品”直接复制了一个产品(包括其设计细节和商标)，而“仿冒品”和“复制品”只是模仿正品，但有明显的区别和遗漏，因此消费者就不会被欺骗。

Perhaps that is the key difference then - "counterfeits" directly copy a product (design details and trade marks included), whereas "knock-offs" and "replicas" merely mimic a genuine product with clear differences and omissions so that consumers are not deceived.

尽管如此，作为一个品牌所有者，很容易理解为什么所有这些类型的商品都有问题。如果市场上有更便宜又高度相似的产品，即使是“仿冒”或“复制”产品，也可能导致销售损失，而且因为价格较低，而消费者并不关心品牌不正确或有缺失。如果商标没有被摹仿或使用在假冒产品上，外观设计保护可以成为处理这类商品的有用后备措施。

Nonetheless, as a brand owner, it is easy to see why all of these types of goods are problematic. Even a "knock-off" or "replica" product could still result in a loss of sales if a cheaper, highly similar version is available on the market and consumers are not concerned about incorrect or missing branding given the lower price point. Where trade marks are not imitated or used on a fake product, design protection can be a helpful back-up to deal with goods of this type.

据估计，假冒商品市场每年的价值超过5000亿美元，无论定义如何，明确的反假冒战略对各种规模的公司都至关重要，我们的团队6*在线下和线上执法战略方面均能提供很好的协助。

With the counterfeit goods market estimated to be worth over $500 billion per year, and regardless of differing definitions, a clear anti-counterfeiting strategy is vital for companies of all sizes and our team6* is extremely well-placed to assist with both physical and online enforcement strategies.

6* https://www.marks-clerk.com/expertise/anti-

counterfeiting/

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联系作者 Contact the author

Megan Rannard: mrannard@marks-clerk.com