Latest US Export To China: Crazy Border-Spanning Lawsuits
from the the-long-arm-of-the-law dept
What is it about people who think that if someone simply says something you don't like, you can just sue them? It's certainly not limited to the US, of course. David Weinberger points us to the odd story of a German blogger who is being sued in China for a short blog post from last year, where the blogger noted the similarities between a German and a Chinese designed bus, suggesting that the Chinese bus company had copied the German design. The blogger certainly wasn't the first to make the connection. German newspapers had discussed the amazing similarities between the two buses (click on the link and you can see the photos of the buses side by side). However, the company that makes the Chinese truck is suing the German blogger, claiming his post, which simply had a single line about the speed with which the Chinese firm supposedly copied the German design, hurt their sales. It's difficult to see how there could be any actual connection between the blog post and sales -- and the images certainly make a pretty strong case that the blogger wasn't making things up when suggesting that the Chinese firm got its... inspiration from the German design. However, in an age where anything you don't like needs to be settled in court, apparently that's what happens.
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DEE DEE DEE!!!
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lol
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Adverts for buses
Perhaps this is more of a publicity stunt?
"Our sales are shitty - everyone is buying the other bus but no one seems to have heard of us or that we're cheaper. Let's sue the guy who spotted the copy so more buyers spot it too"
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Copycat
now assuming the blog has any validity to it, they arnt suing over the facts, they are sueing over their supposed effective sale because of the facts...
I'm sorry, if the facts hurt your sales, your company and product are doomed after the hype your marketing did wears off...
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I'll be the first to actually say it,
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But what is the real effect here?
If Iven & Hillman does not operate in China, what can a Chinese court impose on a German company? Are there any treaties in place that would grant the Chinese court the ability to enforce its rule in Germany?
If they do operate in China, well, this is just a consideration of operating in a foreign country, and would realistically have nothing to do with the fact that the medium was a blog.
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Buses? German vs. Chinese
Not at all the busses are clearly different - ones darker blue than the other and the headlights are a different shape
Clearly different?!? Darker blue?!? I'm glad you're looking at the big picture here Enrico.
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Re: Buses? German vs. Chinese
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Stop Crying, do something
If we cannot beat mom and pop shops in China, there is no hope for this country.
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sorry
Schlussendlich entschuldige ich mich bei den Chinesen für eine Wertung auf www.autoregional.de, die den chinesischen Nationalstolz verletzen könnte und die Errungenschaften der chinesischen Automobilindustrie im weltweiten Expansionsprozess in der deutschen Presse zum Tagesthema werden lässt.
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