Chinese commerce official says GM has no grounds for piracy complaint

[UpInArms]

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/9/6/latest/18802Chineseco&sec=latest

BEIJING: A top Chinese commerce official said Monday that General Motors Corp. hasn't provided enough evidence to prove that a local company copied one of its car models.

GM China says it is investigating what it sees as similarities between its Spark minicar and Chery Automobile Corp.'s QQ model.

Deputy Commerce Minister Zhang Zhigang, speaking at a news briefing to launch a one-year crackdown on rampant violations of intellectual property rights in China, said there was not enough evidence to pursue a case against the Chinese manufacturer.

"Unless GM provides further evidence to prove that Chery acquired such technology and designs through certain means ... just simple similarity in terms of exterior design isn't sufficient enough to prove that the Chinese company is guilty,'' Zhang said.

<snip>

Zhang's comments surprised GM, which said Monday that discussions with both the Ministry of Commerce and Chery to resolve the dispute were ongoing.

...more...

[madrchsod]

1. lol !!!!!

ah,poor babies,that`s what they get in dealing with china.....

[w4rma]

2. GM helped push for American factories to be moved over there.

This is their own short-sighted fault.

[UpInArms]

6. here's some background on the lack of vision

http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinsider/0304/25/autos-147156.htm

excerpt:

Geely and Chinese rival SAIC Chery Automobile Co. expect sales to double in 2003, gaining on bigger foreign rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp. They are succeeding in the world's fastest-growing car market by adapting foreign designs and technology to make cheaper cars than their rivals. The downside is they're getting into legal trouble.

Toyota said it sued Geely in the Beijing Intermediate People's Court in December for infringing on its trademark and designs, the first suit of its kind in China's car industry. General Motors, the world's biggest carmaker, is investigating whether Chery copied the design of its new Spark minicar, Phil Murtaugh, GM's China chairman, said in an interview before this week's Auto Shanghai 2003 trade show.

Local carmakers say borrowing ideas from overseas competitors accounts for part of their success.

"Our competitive strategy is to adapt the experience of foreign carmakers to China's local conditions," said Chery General Manager Sun Yong in an interview at the auto show, where the company introduced a new sedan. "We sell cars at less than 100,000 yuan each, a price that's more affordable to the vast majority of Chinese buyers."

<snip>

Even so, General Motors -- which has invested more than $1.5 billion in China since 1997 -- spends "billions of dollars" each year designing new products, said Murtaugh, who's based in Shanghai. Part of that investment is lost when rivals copy GM models.

...more...

and here's another tidbit:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A38899-2004Mar7

excerpt:

More than 2 million passenger cars were sold in China last year, an increase of more than 80 percent from the year before, according to the State Information Center. China is now the single fastest-growing auto market in the world, and the second largest in Asia after Japan.

"Every year, we keep saying, 'Well, there's no way we can have a repeat performance of last year,' and every year we're wrong," said Phil Murtagh, who oversees General Motors Corp.'s operations in China. "We're seeing the beginnings of a car culture."

[Ernesto]

8. It's only the beginning

Last spring Boeing off-shored large parts of it's next generation aircraft to China.... How long will it be before China produces their own airliners? How about heavey bombers? Missles?... Talk about a "national security" issue, anyone?

[Veggie Meathead]

3. Wait until Wal-Mart starts selling these knockoffs at one third the

price at the GM dealers.

[tooncesj0nes]

4. sleep with a dog..

..and you just might get fleas...

[pinniped]

5. Pic!

Obviously it's not the same because the colours differ.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/18/1087245101995.html?from=storylhs&oneclick=true

Now this is funny:

Even more annoying, GM's main partner in China, Shanghai Automobile Industry Corp, was, or still is, an investor in Chery.

Chery is the manufacturer of the cloned Spark.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/18/19PIRATE_COMB,0.jpg

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. On the alternative energy/hydroelectric project...

That I am working on, with other people, to get off the ground, we have discussed doing business in China.

We will avoid it for the long term.

Why?

There is no way under the sun to protect patents in China. They will pirate the designs and then protect the pirates. Just ain't worth the hassle and the financial losses. We'd love to have fair access to that market but there ain't no such thing.

Don't get me started on the baksheesh needed to play there...