Bill would bag phony-purse buyers

[The Straight Story]

Pretty soon, it could be more than just the fashion police who have a problem with your shoddy knockoff bag, like this bogus Louis Vuitton.

Buyers could face a year in jail or a $,1000 fine under a proposed bill by a city councilwoman fed up with cheapskate tourists and Big Apple residents flooding her district in search of fake designer merchandise.

"We don't want to be known as the place to come to get counterfeit goods," said Councilwoman Margaret Chin, whose Chinatown district is ground zero for counterfeiters.

Under Chin's bill, which is being introduced Thursday, shoppers caught buying any counterfeit product could be jailed or slapped with a fine of $1,000 -- a little less than the price of Marc Jacobs' frequently copied Baroque Quilting Mini Stam bag, which retails for $1,250.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/bill_would_bag_phony_purse_buyers_6hf0Hn6XVPYQ2pQaX9NmbI

[rfranklin]

1. Who is paying her?

That's the question.

[LeftinOH]

2. Is buying a knockoff product such a bad thing? If the buyers are aware that they

aren't getting the real thing, does it matter? And- any nitwit who pays $1,250.00 for a name brand purse is a sucker, anyway.

[snooper2]

3. I thought Nassau was ground zero

This a real Louis Vuitton?

Yes- Yes, real, only $25 good deal

Bullshit, this was made in Brazil wasn't it?

No oh No, real thing,

Okay, whatever, how bout $10..

sold :P

[Retrograde]

4. Isn't it already illegal?

Since the designs are copyrighted, it's already illegal to sell them.

BTW, the EU made purchasing counterfeit goods illegal a couple of years ago: when I was in Italy then there were multilingual signs explaining that anyone caught buying them would be fined. It seemed to cut down on the plethora of corner bag sellers.

[WinkyDink]

7. No. We are not the EU.

[Retrograde]

12. No, but selling counterfeit material still is illegal in the US (nm)

[WinkyDink]

5. So absurd it verges on the mentally-disturbed. And Google: There are exactly 2 examples of Italian

cops going after tourists for this: one was a Brit; the other, a 67-year-old Austrian woman. Both times, the police ignored the VENDOR. (The stories of "My friend had her purse confiscated on the street/at Customs" are apocryphal at best.)

Corruption works in many ways.

[JohnnyRingo]

6. Copyright police?

Will there be a special unit or will officers have to divide their time between violent crime and patrolling for shoppers eying up a bargain? There's your next reality crime drama: "SCU Chinatown. Tag the Bag". The series can breath new life into George Takai's career as the two fisted police captain who heads the NYPD fashion unit. It's TV so have to use karate a lot.

Her comment that the money spent buying a knockoff goes to fuel terrorism and child labor is misleading. It assumes that Asians trying to make a living in NY are typically sending the money to terrorists who apparently put their women to work on sewing machines now. The drug trade must be on the wane.

Secondly, the statement assumes Louis Vitton and Coach only employ adults earning a living wage. It's a myth that the copyright goods are of superior quality. Just like a Nike shoe, the bulk of the price goes to promotion and a high profit margin. In this case, enough profit to buy a politician.

[hlthe2b]

8. Where do they draw the line... I've seen many "look alikes"

that clearly differed sufficiently in design that any but the most moronic fool would know it was not the real deal. If they don't try to use the logos and other features that are clearly linked to the original, then, is it really a counterfeit--or just a "look alike" that one might see sold at department and discount stores?

[obxhead]

9. Punish the user not the supplier.

Yeah, that's worked so wonderfully in another war we've been fighting here. :eyes:

[EC]

10. Why the buyer?

Aren't most of these buyers duped into thinking they are buying the real thing? Why are they not arresting the seller and maker?

[sakabatou]

13. My question too

Shouldn't they go after the seller?

[RevStPatrick]

11. My understanding is that Louis Vuitton...

...and many of the other big name designers, quietly don't mind the knock-offs being sold. It helps keep their brands well-known and creates controversy (like when stories such as this one appear), which is always good for business. They understand that the people who would buy one for $25 would never spend $1250 anyway. This from friends in the fashion industry...

[NYC Liberal]

14. "Bill" must have quite a unique fetish. nt