How do we ensure that our products are not copied in China?

Every time we visit a customer for the first time, one of their biggest concerns is that one of their products might be copied. This is an understandable concern, as industrial intellectual protection is barely respected in China and there have been countless of such cases across industries.

So, what do we do at GISP to make sure our customers are always protected?

First, we advise our partners to avoid being overconfident about a signed contract. In Western countries we use to think that we are completely safe when there is “something signed”. The fact that we have a document signed by both parties gives us a false sense of security. Our experience proves that this is not the case, and that many Chinese manufacturers, in order to get the order, will sign whatever is needed, especially in the rural areas of the interior where right now the best prices are found. Truth to be told, most contracts signed in China are not respected, and in the event of non-compliance it is virtually impossible to win a sentence in a Chinese court.

The second and perhaps most important piece of advice is to think long term. Since we started importing industrial products from China 20 years ago, we have been able to establish long-term relationships with all manufacturers with whom we work. Our priority is to avoid them lose face, always taking into consideration the value system and personal relationships in China. Moreover, if the Chinese supplier sees that the relationship is serious and can have some stability over time, we eliminate the possibility of opportunistic practices arising.

Finally, in order to protect our partners, we have a very strict control of the industrial moulds. Thus, all our customer’s moulds are stored and secured in our own warehouse, and only leave our premises for the manufacturing processes. In addition, our staff on the field are personally and constantly following up factories, both during the manufacturing process and at the final quality control stage. These combined measures make any parallel production impossible.

Thanks to the combination of our knowledge of the Chinese culture, a deep long-term vision, and strict security measures we not only eliminate this risk of copying, but we also optimize the relationship with manufacturers.