We all know and love Tabasco Sauce, and its well known label. Apparently it has a patented anti-spill cap, as well, although I cannot find any mention of it, by google. But I heard a curious report.
To me the source was credible, but unverifiable, so I will not name names. The question was: would a USA hot sauce supplier knock-off Tabasco sauce, down to the special cap, and then export it to a certain country for sale.
The USA person of course pointed out the problems:
1. Not a good business practice.
2. Probably could not get the special caps if the USA citizen wanted to.
3. Unlikely to get the product out of USA if the USA citizen tried.
The buyer went away unsatisfied. For now.
Why knock it off in USA? (I don't use the word "piracy" because piracy is a violent capital crime, and copying hot sauce is neither.) If you are going to knock something off, why not do so in your own country? So you can genuinely state "Made in USA" in spite of the fact the brand is fake?
It is a curious event, and I hope to come across it myself sometime so I can learn how come. If anyone else knows, I'd like to hear.
Now, Tabasco might be inclined to follow-up and protest to the authorities in the home country of the knock-off artist. Not that much could or would be done. So I would advise Tabasco saves its breath.
A far better way, and a means that trumps "piracy" is to simply add a traceability element to the bottle, so the end-user in knockoffistan can simply qwery the label with a smart phone and be taken to the USA Tabasco site where that serial number is listed as being sold (via the chain) to that retailer.
Now that sounds like quite a database! Yes, but that is now cheap. Much cheaper and more effective at defending "trade marks." I think we'll see law regarding trademarks wither on the vine as traceability trumps trademarks.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
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The USA person of course pointed out the problems:
1. Not a good business practice.
2. Probably could not get the special caps if the USA citizen wanted to.
3. Unlikely to get the product out of USA if the USA citizen tried.
The buyer went away unsatisfied. For now.
Why knock it off in USA? (I don't use the word "piracy" because piracy is a violent capital crime, and copying hot sauce is neither.) If you are going to knock something off, why not do so in your own country? So you can genuinely state "Made in USA" in spite of the fact the brand is fake?
It is a curious event, and I hope to come across it myself sometime so I can learn how come. If anyone else knows, I'd like to hear.
Now, Tabasco might be inclined to follow-up and protest to the authorities in the home country of the knock-off artist. Not that much could or would be done. So I would advise Tabasco saves its breath.
A far better way, and a means that trumps "piracy" is to simply add a traceability element to the bottle, so the end-user in knockoffistan can simply qwery the label with a smart phone and be taken to the USA Tabasco site where that serial number is listed as being sold (via the chain) to that retailer.
Now that sounds like quite a database! Yes, but that is now cheap. Much cheaper and more effective at defending "trade marks." I think we'll see law regarding trademarks wither on the vine as traceability trumps trademarks.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
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