EBM Papst Group, producer of energy-saving fans and motors has set up an assembly line in Shanghai. They have invested 8 million U.S. dollars in their activities in China, trying to stay ahead of the competition and preventing IPR infringements.
Hans-Jochen Belike, general manager of EBM Papst has experienced infringed ventilators in China and Germany, he tells about his experience in this Deutsche Welle video. Most copycat products come from China, but interestingly, the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA), the interest group for German engineering companies, found out that Germany is the second country of origin for the copycat products on the German market. See the Spiegel article here (German).
VDMA China’s Message to Companies that need Capital Intensive Goods: “Choose the Orignal – Choose Success”
Stephanie Heydolph of the VDMA China, representing German engineering companies in China, said that companies should think carefully about which products they bring to China. According to Heydolph the legislation in China has improved but the enforcement is lacking. She gives the size of China as an explanation why this enforcement is not implemented everywhere in China.
VDMA’s Pro Original campaign is to show companies that it is in their own interest to use an original capital intensive good. The campaign has a logo that uses three Cs. One C is for copyright, the other Cs are to symbolise that the individualism of a fingerprint (since each original is unique), see here.
To prevent that their capital intensive goods are unauthorisedly copied, VDMA suggest the manufacturers to implement the following measures:
1. Product characteristics technology to determine whether a product is genuine, which include holograms, data-matrix-codes, RFID, special publishing ways, and adding some materials.
2. Detection und authentification of protected products
Equipment and systems that can recognise the security signs. For example RFID-reader, Opto-sensors, that are connected to an online software and database.
3. Tracking- and tracing system
To oversee the product during its life cycle.
4. Embedded security of industrial products and systems
Goal of embedded security is the protection of know-how, that is hidden, including encrypted software and communication, krypto-RFIDs.
5. Technichal protection for unauthorised know-how-transfer
IT systems with digital rights management, encryption etc.
6. Engineering and advice for each product and know-how-protection
Read these measures in German plus VDMA’s 2010 study on piracy here.