Chao News client reporter Wu Yue
“It’s not that Bosideng cannot afford it, but that college-style down jackets are more cost-effective.” This winter, many netizens posted pictures on social platforms - down jackets from universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Central Academy of Drama. "It's cheap, easy to wear, and has a high return rate."
Regarding the cost-effectiveness of down jackets, young people of this generation have a clear account: some down jackets with a price tag of two to three thousand yuan have a down filling capacity of no more than 200 grams, but some college models have a down filling capacity of up to 600 grams.
In the past few days, Chao News reporters have discovered that major e-commerce platforms are full of college down jacket sales shops such as "customized original details" and "make your own patterns". Many down jackets from famous schools have been imitated and infringed upon. Problems have emerged. Why are down jackets on the list of "highly educated"? Chao News reporters conducted an investigation.
Many online stores displayed imitation college down jackets.
"Highly educated" down jackets were hot sellers.
On January 25, consumer Aili (pseudonym) bought a long down jacket from the Central Academy of Drama online and asked a student from the school to authenticate it. Fake. The conclusion is that this down jacket is far from the original, ranging from the school name embroidery to the zipper material.
In addition, consumer Xiao Le (pseudonym) purchased a Peking University long down online, with "Peking University" printed on the chest, but the badge on the left sleeve of the clothes read "Tsinghua University" and the school motto "Continuous self-improvement and morality." The merchant mixed the logos of the two universities.
A down jacket has the logos of both Peking University and Tsinghua University. Photo provided by interviewee
The down jacket is suspected of "falsifying academic qualifications", leaving many consumers dumbfounded. However, there are also some merchants who clearly state that the down jackets are imitations. According to the seller's display, the down jacket pictures are marked with words such as "original 1:1", "99% similarity", "with original packaging bag", "there is also a low-end version, the workmanship quality is worse"... The price ranges from 300 yuan to 700 yuan. Etc., the monthly sales volume of some styles reaches more than 5,000 pieces.
A variety of down jackets of this type are displayed in a store that sells directly from the factory. A Chao News reporter called the store in the name of a consumer, and the relevant staff claimed, "We bought it and made patterns, and we have our own processing factory." A reporter from
asked, "How high is the similarity? Are they exactly the same, or are they slightly different?" The store staff replied, "It's definitely not as good as the original." Looking at monthly sales, the store's best-selling product is a model from the Central Academy of Drama. The long down jacket is priced at 568 yuan, with monthly sales reaching more than 1,000 pieces.
Chao News reporters found on multiple online shopping platforms that not only the Central Academy of Drama and Peking University, but also Tsinghua University, Communication University of China, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing Film Academy, Fudan University and other well-known universities have become unscrupulous merchants of down jackets. Counterfeit objects. There are even some merchants who advertise "original packaging, we have everything you want".
"Fake academic qualifications" has been repeatedly banned
"Down jackets from prestigious schools have been copied", causing controversy. In this regard, consumer attitudes are diversified.
Ellie represents the fan buyer group. She told the Chao News reporter that she bought the Central Academy of Drama down jacket because she saw a merchant advertising "the same style as Liu Haoran and Yi Yang Qianxi" and that it was the "starting uniform" for many stars in filming, and fans were willing to place an order.
In addition, there are many young buyers who are attached to famous schools and pursue cost-effectiveness. After comparing the down filling weight, clothing price, etc., they choose to buy the so-called "customized version" of college down jackets. They believe that down jackets printed with the words of famous universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University will have a high rate of return.
Many interviewees said that taking the Beijing Film Academy’s long goose down jacket as an example, the amount of down is as much as 600 grams, and the original price at the school’s cultural and creative product store is more than 2,000 yuan. A Bosideng down jacket with the same weight is more expensive. However, customized "replacements" only cost five to six hundred yuan, and many consumers who "pursue cost-effectiveness" choose to buy them.
The "academic fraud" scandal in down jackets has also been noticed by Peking University.In this regard, in January this year, the Peking University Logo Management Office issued a statement saying that the two companies have been promoting and selling down jacket products printed with the "Peking University" series of trademarks on multiple online platforms in the name of "current students and alumni". An administrative complaint has been filed.
According to the statement, logos such as "Peking University", "peking university", "Peking University", "pku" and "school emblem" are all series of registered trademarks of the school. Unauthorized use prohibited. The production and sale of down jackets printed with relevant logos is suspected of infringing the exclusive trademark rights of Peking University.
Statement from Peking University Logo Management Office Source: pku Xiaobiao Official WeChat
In fact, “academic fraud” is rampant in many fields such as down jackets, snacks, education, etc., and is banned repeatedly. Chao News reporters noticed that once a wide range of products are endorsed by famous schools, scientific research institutions, etc., they are often trusted by consumers who do not know the truth, and the sales volume is considerable.
In December 2023, CCTV Finance reported on a number of Internet celebrity snacks that falsely used the logos and titles of "Agricultural University" and "Academy of Agricultural Sciences". According to media reports, in November 2020, the Peking University Logo Management Office announced a case of counterfeit registered trademarks. The Zhongguancun Police Station investigated and dealt with more than 20,000 counterfeit goods in accordance with the law, and the amount involved amounted to more than 100,000 yuan.
Famous schools encounter difficulties in safeguarding their rights.
Lu Jiamu, director of the Intellectual Property Professional Committee of Zhejiang Lawyers Association, analyzed to Chao News reporter that high-imitation down jackets from famous schools are suspected of violating the Trademark Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. "If colleges and universities have registered trademarks in the clothing category, then sellers and manufacturers are suspected of infringing on the exclusive rights of registered trademarks of colleges and universities." Lu Jiamu said that even if colleges and universities have not registered in the clothing category, they can be recognized as well-known trademarks based on their high popularity, and the law supports cross-border trademark registration. class protection. In addition, the name of a university can be the name of a public institution with certain influence, which is protected by the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.
Although it is suspected of being illegal, businesses are still keen on selling down jackets from prestigious schools. Why is this?
is currently representing a case of alleged infringement by Peking University, Han Yanyan, a practicing lawyer at Beijing Jingshi (Tongzhou) Law Firm, told Chao News reporter that judging from past cases of infringement by universities, it is time-consuming for universities to provide evidence and high costs for rights protection, but it is costly for businesses to violate the law. And it is relatively low, so few colleges and universities are willing to be "serious".
"Looking at the infringement case I represented, two years have passed, and the first-instance judgment has not yet been issued." Han Yanyan said that compared with the lower illegal costs, down jackets will amplify the market effect under the halo of prestigious schools, resulting in gray Interest space. This is also one of the reasons why businessmen knowingly violate the laws of colleges and universities.
Two lawyers interviewed told Chao News that in order to protect the rights of universities, they need to report and provide evidence to the local market supervision bureau of the infringing sellers and manufacturers. Due to the scattered locations of online sellers and the concealment of counterfeit production sites, various objective problems exist. It is not easy for universities that focus on scientific research and teaching to safeguard their rights.
Han Yanyan suggested that to solve the problem of imitation college down jackets, we need to strengthen penalties and increase the cost of illegal activities for manufacturers. For platforms, before down jackets from famous universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Central Academy of Drama are put on the shelves, the platform should review the authorization information, and then use technical means to inspect products with university logos at a later stage to ensure compliance with sales. Once counterfeit products are sold, manufacturers and platforms should be held accountable accordingly.
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