Chinese reproductions of modern furniture classics

[coldarchon]

http://www.modernclassic.cn/html/Nel...ather_Sofa.htm

4 metal feet to protect the floor

I'm so lost on this ..

 

[hypersonic]

Gosh, they're even knocking off the Tolomeo task light.

What about international copyright laws?

 

[hypersonic]

Originally Posted by bkk

China has a very laissez faire attitude toward copyright violations and other IP. Good luck being able to stop a manufacturer from "stealing". And while you're fighting this battle, you're just throwing money into the trash can.

Hmm, yes, it would seem to be the case.

I still do not understand why the western importers are not shut down though.

What it really comes down to is consumers who put price before integrity.

It reminds me of Oscar Wilde's comment about a cynic being someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[allreds]

link

Alphaville Design has gotten themselves into a brawl with the furniture manufacturer and retailer, Knoll, over who owns the rights to Mies van der Rohe's entire Barcelona line of furniture designs. First, Knoll sued Alphaville's customers after they were found to be selling Bacelona merchandise, a suit that was fought in court and eventually dismissed. Now the company is hitting back at Knoll, trying to get any and all ideas of exclusive patents Knoll thinks they have on van der Rohe's designs removed. Here's their plans from Alphaville's president, David Lee:

"We are delighted that the New York courts dismissed Knoll's lawsuit against one of my customers after we joined in their defense. Our case will clarify the law and show that Knoll cannot keep others from using these 1920's designs that have been made by a myriad of manufacturers for over 40 years. We seek a full cancellation of Knoll's trademark registrations with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office."

alphaville's exposition chair

 

[hypersonic]

Originally Posted by allreds

link


"We are delighted that the New York courts dismissed Knoll's lawsuit against one of my customers after we joined in their defense. Our case will clarify the law and show that Knoll cannot keep others from using these 1920's designs that have been made by a myriad of manufacturers for over 40 years. We seek a full cancellation of Knoll's trademark registrations with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office."

alphaville's exposition chair

Interesting.

It should be acknowledged that Knoll did get permission from MVDR to reproduce the furniture in the USA after WW2 -- but Knoll was not the original makers of this furniture either.

It's like the Cassina reproductions of the tubular steel furniture Le Corbusier designed with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. They were originally made in France by Thonet Frères .

The tubular steel furniture by Mart Stam, Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer was originally made by Gebrüder Thonet in Germany.

 

[JustinW]

Excellent thread - thanks, gents!

 

[M. Bardamu]

There's a store here in Ottawa that's famous for Chinese knock-offs of well-known pieces (the Noguchi glass-topped coffee table and the Castiglioni marble-based floor lamp, to name two). People flock there like crazy though, and it's not even cheap...

 

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by hypersonic

Gosh, they're even knocking off the Tolomeo task light.

What about international copyright laws?

Copyright protection for useful articles is a lot weaker than for expressive works, basically you have to show an expressive and nonfunctional aspect of the useful article. Trade dress might be what you're looking for, but again there's really weak protection, for that, as there should be for something that is so close to an average lamp.

 

[intheknow]

I have a history of importing from this company. I thought my opinion might be of use to other members on here. We have imported most of the items on their website but mainly deal with pieces inspired by Eames, MVDR, Eero Aarnio and Arne Jacobsen and specialize in the Eames inspired Lounge Chair and Ottoman. We have used a number of manufacturers over the years and have found this company to be by far the best - both in terms of build quality and also in how good the design is. I have no experience in ordering small quantities as we order by the container load but we have had spare parts and occasional small items delivered by UPS with no issues. We take our own images - I have included a couple of images as these are not factory library pics as you will see on most sites - hopefully they will give a good idea of the quality. If you want to ask my experience of any particular piece please do so

 

[Milpool]

Originally Posted by teddieriley

Anyone know why a "real" Saarinen side table in marble costs about $750 while a walnut veneer has a $400-$600 mark up on top of that!? I mean sheez, it's a walnut veneer. I would have thought the marble top would have cost more.

Walnut can be a very expensive and highly figured wood. Proper veneering is incredibly expensive and the realm of serious craftsmen only. The reason for this is that you often can't get solid pieces of truly beautiful hardwood of sufficient size to build a piece of furniture. A gorgeous walnut burl may only be measured in inches in width and length. But sliced carefully, pattern matched and jointed, it can cover your relatively plain hardwoods used for the construction of the furniture quite nicely.

Are you associating hardwood veneers with plastic laminates like Formica put over MDF?

For most furniture, I'd take hardwood veneer over hardwood over marble.

Granted, I don't know anything about this particular example you are referencing, so I can't tell you whether or not the walnut veneer is worth the price.

 

[thoumas]

hi,friends, I find another site which supply similar products, anybody know them? good quality?

http://www.chair2000.com/Product/Chair_2.htm

 

[Mr Herbert]

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

I grew up with Barcelona chairs, among other designer furniture too numerous to mention, and the repros I've seen at reputable furniture stores in Japan are pale imitations at best, with neither the dimensions nor the finish of the originals. From what I've seen, I would not pay those prices for that inferior quality.

the office building i once worked in had some lovely barcelonas in brown leather that must have been at least 20 years old. the wear added so much character to them and other than the patina they looked otherwise new...

time will tell what the repos will look like. i cant imagine the leather is as good quality..

 

[Gus]

My experince is that if you move or redecorate you can recoup some of your money reselling licensed classic furniture. But, with the knock-offs there is little or no return.

 

[maomao1980]

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

My experince is that if you move or redecorate you can recoup some of your money reselling licensed classic furniture. But, with the knock-offs there is little or no return.

I'm not defending replicas but if your argument against them is out of the above logic, then it makes no sense as the net cash out will always be significantly lower with replicas versus originals, unless of course you overpaid for replicas.

 

[Aristeu Pires]

I appreciate the attempt.

Basically, my situation is that I'm interested in this:
http://www.modernclassic.cn/html/Ju...ww.dwr.com/product/categorie...na-armchair.do