Canadiens Knockoff Crusade

[njmeadowlanders]

http://tinyurl.com/37frar7

The Montreal Canadiens? Not fans of the knockoffs. In fact, they've declared war on counterfeit jerseys, which are frequently sold in the parking lots around Bell Centre.

As part of that campaign, the Canadiens have become the first NHL team to offer the hockey equivalent of a "cash-for-guns" program in the inner city: Offering fans a $100 rebate on an authentic jersey, a $50 rebate on a replica jersey and a Canadiens cap signed by a player if they turn in their fake gear by April 30 at the Bell Centre Habs Zone shop.

I'm all for this. I don't own any knockoffs for any of my teams personally, but I see it ALL the time, especially with Mark Sanchez jerseys flooding the parking lots before Jet games nowadays. It bothers the hell out of me but I'm not going to rehash the whole "most people don't realize the difference" thing again.

Here's even 10 differences: http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=62049

[sergeimakarenkov44]

I think the biggest sign the one on the left is counterfeit has to be the middle stripe is turquoise instead of blue

[Brass]

Good on the Habs for doing this! About time these teams and companies stop complaining about the flood of fakes and actually put something into action. If only RBK and every other team would jump on this bandwagon (not to mention eBay, too) then we'd be talking!

[Sodboy13]

They also have a "rat out the counterfeiters" contest going. You submit the URL of a counterfeit shop, you get entered to win an autographed authentic jersey.

I really hope this catches on as a movement across the NHL. I went to a couple of Hawks games early this season, and I would guess that at least half of the jerseys customized with current players were obvious knockoffs.

[Brass]

They also have a "rat out the counterfeiters" contest going. You submit the URL of a counterfeit shop, you get entered to win an autographed authentic jersey.

I really hope this catches on as a movement across the NHL. I went to a couple of Hawks games early this season, and I would guess that at least half of the jerseys customized with current players were obvious knockoffs.

When they showed shots of the audience during the game yesterday, you could see TONS of fakes.

[walby2]

Not to defend the counterfeiters, but I'm going to defend the counterfeiters. When RBK and the like charge nearly $400 for an authentic jersey that can't cost anything more than maybe $40 to manufacture and ship, don't be surprised when people start taking advantage of that fact by selling fakes. Remember, nearly everyone outside of this forum doesn't give a crap about the details like the difference between the official Montreal Canadiens "M" vs the one on a fake.

Maybe jersey manufacturers will face their own day of reckoning much like how filesharing made the music industry confront the fact that the days of selling shiat CDs with two good songs on them for $20 was quickly coming to an end...

[Jarred Revolver]

I go to a lot of Canucks games (went to Game 5 on Friday...) and there's SO many around GM Place. They look so terrible, I have no idea why people buy them.

[STL FANATIC]

For the record, though, there's a big difference between counterfeit jerseys, and incorrect letter/number jobs.

A lot of people buy the real (be it replica or authentic) jerseys, but only later decide to get them customized and go to their local sports shop for that. In many cases, the customization doesn't use the right fonts or method.

But I think that's much different from illegal counterfeiting. Visually it bothers me as much, though.

[IceCap]

Not to defend the counterfeiters, but I'm going to defend the counterfeiters. When RBK and the like charge nearly $400 for an authentic jersey that can't cost anything more than maybe $40 to manufacture and ship, don't be surprised when people start taking advantage of that fact by selling fakes. Remember, nearly everyone outside of this forum doesn't give a crap about the details like the difference between the official Montreal Canadiens "M" vs the one on a fake.

Maybe jersey manufacturers will face their own day of reckoning much like how filesharing made the music industry confront the fact that the days of selling shiat CDs with two good songs on them for $20 was quickly coming to an end...

Sorry, don't buy this argument for music, and I don't buy it for jerseys. Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates. If enough people suddenly can't afford Rebook's prices, or simply decide they don't want to pay that much, then prices will lower. It's how the market works.

In the end you just can't justify the breaking of the law. These counterfeiters are profiting off of the intellectual property, fan allegiances, and on-ice efforts of others. It's not right, regardless of how much you try to spin it as a populist movement.

[The Fixer]

I think it's great that they are doing this for their team. NOT because they are "against the illegal jerseys". I think they are trying to get the message that "If you have a counterfit youre not a real fan!" which I don't think is cool. from a marketing standpoint, i think it's a BRILLIANT idea. Get more people to spend money on their jerseys and not counterfits. But I think that a $100 rebate is too much and they could offer a $50 and people would take it and not know what they are missing.

[Sodboy13]

I do think the math of "Spend $40 on a fake, save $100 on an authentic" might catch up to the Habs a bit more quickly than they imagine.

I will say this about the music comparison: when you download an illegal music file, it sounds just like what you'd rip off of a purchased CD, or download from iTunes. The bootleg jerseys, however, usually look significantly different from the real deal, and not just in a way that logo nerds like us would notice. The problem must be in enough people seeing the difference in price point and going, "Eh, close enough." Never mind that the numbers and letters look like they were hand-cut without a pattern, the shoulder logos on the white jersey have red backgrounds, and the Indian Head on the front is the wrong color, because the folks in Hong Kong were probably using a Portland Winter Hawks jersey to make copies.

[walby2]

Sorry, don't buy this argument for music, and I don't buy it for jerseys. Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates. If enough people suddenly can't afford Rebook's prices, or simply decide they don't want to pay that much, then prices will lower. It's how the market works.

In the end you just can't justify the breaking of the law. These counterfeiters are profiting off of the intellectual property, fan allegiances, and on-ice efforts of others. It's not right, regardless of how much you try to spin it as a populist movement.

That's all well and good, but if you are someone trying to sell jerseys that don't cost more than $30 to make and ship for $300, don't be shocked if someone turns up and says that they will happily satisfy the market demand for less than perfect but still reasonably well designed jerseys at, say, $50 a pop.

The laws of economics will always trump intellectual property law, no matter how badly the RIAA or Reebok wishes it weren't so.

[vmd9]

I may be missing the point. But who cares if someone wants to wear a fake jersey? I think people can wear whatever they want it doesn't bother me

[IceCap]

Sorry, don't buy this argument for music, and I don't buy it for jerseys. Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates. If enough people suddenly can't afford Rebook's prices, or simply decide they don't want to pay that much, then prices will lower. It's how the market works.

In the end you just can't justify the breaking of the law. These counterfeiters are profiting off of the intellectual property, fan allegiances, and on-ice efforts of others. It's not right, regardless of how much you try to spin it as a populist movement.

That's all well and good, but if you are someone trying to sell jerseys that don't cost more than $30 to make and ship for $300, don't be shocked if someone turns up and says that they will happily satisfy the market demand for less than perfect but still reasonably well designed jerseys at, say, $50 a pop.

The laws of economics will always trump intellectual property law, no matter how badly the RIAA or Reebok wishes it weren't so.

Exactly. The laws of economics will catch up with them. And if the market base, for whatever reason, decides it doesn't want to buy the product at its current price, the price will be lowered. It's called the free market, it works wonders. The jerseys and CDs are being sold at the prices they're going for now because that's the price the current market supports. You may feel $300 for an authentic is too high, but currently it's a price that the majority of the market is willing to pay.

And your whole "well the people deserve better" bit STILL doesn't hold any water with me. When you download a song illegally or when you buy a counterfeit jersey you're aiding in a felony. These people are violating the copyrights of legal entities. This pseudo-socialist "let the people have jerseys/music and screw the corporations man!" sentiment just seems silly to me.

The law is very black and white on these issues.

I may be missing the point. But who cares if someone wants to wear a fake jersey? I think people can wear whatever they want it doesn't bother me

It has nothing to do with the team caring about who wears what. It has everything to do with the entity that is the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club protecting their copyrights. In a legal sense you risk losing your copyrights if you fail to sufficiently protect them. By "declaring war on counterfeits" the Canadiens are making an effort to control the illegal copying and distribution of their brand, and thus in the law's eyes are taking steps to protecting their intellectual property.

[Lights Out]

Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates.

Well, by your logic, since so many people illegally download music, movies, and games, wouldn't the market then dictate that those things should be free?

[IceCap]

Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates.

Well, by your logic, since so many people illegally download music, movies, and games, wouldn't the market then dictate that those things should be free?

No because they're gaining those goods through illegal means. My point rests on people purchasing goods legally.

[Sodboy13]

I may be missing the point. But who cares if someone wants to wear a fake jersey? I think people can wear whatever they want it doesn't bother me

I think any hockey fan should care about fake jerseys. Keep in mind that one of the biggest money generators in American pro sports - television revenue - is relatively non-existent for the NHL. The two main streams of revenue for NHL clubs are ticket sales and merchandise sales. When you buy a fake jersey, that money is going to the counterfeiters and those down the line. Not one cent of it goes to the league or its teams. And I would say that hurts the NHL and its teams more, proportionally, than the NFL, NBA, or MLB.

[TalktoChuck]

Jerseys sell at the price they sell at because that's what the market dictates.

Well, by your logic, since so many people illegally download music, movies, and games, wouldn't the market then dictate that those things should be free?

No because there is still a large amount of people buying cds (Me being one of them). And you are forgetting the most important rule in America, if you are good at something never do it for free. Once the majority of people stop buying cds (Authentic jerseys in this case) because they are to expensive and the record companies (Sports Teams in this case) start losing money then you will see a change in price/format. It simple economics. If people are still buying the $140 jerseys then why lower the price?

[walby2]

Exactly. The laws of economics will catch up with them. And if the market base, for whatever reason, decides it doesn't want to buy the product at its current price, the price will be lowered. It's called the free market, it works wonders. The jerseys and CDs are being sold at the prices they're going for now because that's the price the current market supports. You may feel $300 for an authentic is too high, but currently it's a price that the majority of the market is willing to pay.

And your whole "well the people deserve better" bit STILL doesn't hold any water with me. When you download a song illegally or when you buy a counterfeit jersey you're aiding in a felony. These people are violating the copyrights of legal entities. This pseudo-socialist "let the people have jerseys/music and screw the corporations man!" sentiment just seems silly to me.

The law is very black and white on these issues.

Let the jersey makers cover their eyes and ears to what is going on, and be content in knowing that the law is on their side. However, they shouldn't be surprised if some people exploit the tremendous opportunity that they have created with their pricing model.

If you're an accounting whiz or Mercedez-Benz, you can charge a fortune because you know that your product cannot be easily faked. However, music labels and jersey manufacturers are not so fortunate. Their products can be easily faked. Whether it's right or wrong is not the issue - the fact is, it can be done and it is being done, and the practice will continue to grow as long as there are people who are willing to pay $50 for a jersey but not, say, $150 or $250. It isn't going away, and it's a reality that the teams/jersey makers will have to face beyond putting up websites telling us how to spot a fake letter "M".

[RamblinGamblinTiger]

I almost wish we had this problem in ATL... That would mean the team was worth a damn, and that there was a demand for that stuff...

There's not any money to be made in counterfeiting Thrashers' jerseys right now...