Originally Posted by
gerigo
Actually what Tandaina said was right.
There is a difference between counterfeits, which are designed to deceive. They are purchased explicitly to give the owner the misguided impression they have an exact clone of the original purchased at a much lower price, versus replicas.
The role of the replica is much more interesting. They are usually made to give the people of a country or region access to a product that would otherwise have been either banned or not allowed to be imported. This phenomenon happened quite a bit during the 60's and 70's when there were a lot of replicas made behind the iron curtain. They can either be licensed like Lada through Fiat, or non licensed, like the Lamy copy. Today because of the internet and global retail, we now have easy access to these products.
I lived in China for 7 years, and have worked with many manufacturers who worked in that grey area. Many are trying to "legitimatize" their business by investing in design of original products today.
Coming back to the issue of whether the Visconti nib is a counterfeit, I would wager Visconti is too obscure to even catch the attention of a counterfeiter. The usual tactic of the counterfeiter is also a inordinate focus on appearances. Performance is less of a criteria for them, so they would not even bother to try and replicate a nib. Most counterfeit Montblancs have generic nibs, but very well copied bodies.
I'm sure tandaina is always right.
I'm just saying that
I have seen
counterfeit Lamy Safaris being sold by non-authorized dealers. These pens say Lamy on them. They come in a box marked Safari. They are listed online as a "Lamy Safari." They are designed and sold to fool the customer who thinks she is buying a real Lamy Safari. They are counterfeit.
I'm not talking about the Hero model that looks a bit like a Safari but is clearly marked with the Hero name and is sold as a Hero. That's every bit as legitimate as the real Lamy Safari. It doesn't have to be licensed at this point, at least under US law.
I know the difference between replica and counterfeit. I don't consider it a gray area, though, and under US law it isn't. You may have worked in that area in China, and I know there's a lot of money being made over there. But I'm here. So I know of companies that spend years, and lots of money, trying to protect their brand from unscrupulous manufacturers who counterfeit products and sell them under the counterfeited brand name. I know companies that have to deal with consumer complaints when the counterfeit [whatever] breaks, and the irate customer says, I'll never buy a [big brand name] product again. I've read about Aston Martin having to recall a lot of cars because because a manufacturer supplied a counterfeit Dupont plastic part in accelerator pedals, and it frightens me to think about that happening on a more widely sold car.
YMMV.
ETA: just in case,
here's a link to a thread on some of the counterfeit Lamy Safaris
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