Fashion brands are launching a new watchdog to combat Chinese counterfeits

Jansay clothes, available at Musinsa, are showcased at the brand’s pop-up store in Seoul, June 2023. Courtesy of Musinsa

By Ko Dong-hwan

The country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion industry have jointly launched a new watchdog agency against sellers of Chinese products who illegally copy original designs of Korean products, industry observers said on Sunday.

Musinsa, a popular local online and offline shopping platform for SME fashion brands, and 40 Korean SME brands have formed the Brand Intellectual Property Protection Association. The association is registered as a non-profit organization under the country’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups and has reserved its leadership for Kim Hoon-do, the chairman of Korean fashion brand platform GBGH (Good Brand Good House).

The association’s main purpose is to monitor Korean and Chinese e-commerce platforms and look for counterfeits with designs copied from products released by member companies.

After its establishment, the association joined an anti-counterfeit distribution association under the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.

It has also agreed with the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Korea Customs Service and local patent offices to launch campaigns to protect the design rights of its member companies.

A promotional image for the ‘Fake Never’ campaign, launched by Musinsa and 50 other companies in the country’s fashion industry to raise public awareness about design theft, February 2023 / Courtesy of Musinsa

The fashion industry’s latest initiative comes after Musinsa and the Korean Brand Fashion Organization jointly launched the ‘Fake Never’ campaign last year to raise public awareness about design theft and how it threatens the intellectual properties of local SMEs.

The organization started with 50 Korean SME brand companies, manufacturers and distributors and was later joined by more than 50 companies within two months of its launch.

The counterfeiting problem has always been present in the country’s fashion industry. But after the rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu and AliExpress, the problem has become worse.

The online platforms not only sold products at ultra-cheap prices compared to retail prices in the Korean market, but also sold counterfeit products that copied designs of existing products.

According to industry observers, distributors of these counterfeit goods included both Chinese and Koreans.

“Foreign online shopping platforms for direct purchase have become rampant showrooms for K-fashion counterfeit items, and Koreans (engaged in the) crime are (exacerbating) the problem,” said a representative of one of the newly formed fashion alliance companies. “The situation has forced us to take a joint counteraction.”

Ahead of Musinsa’s latest joint move with its local business partners, KIPO, on April 1, the Technology and Design Police Department launched a new watchdog unit, Design Counterfeit Monitoring & Support Team, to increase vigilance on the issue.