Not All Bikes Are Born Equal

2015-12-22

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NOTALLBIKESAREBORNEQUAL

JULIENPERRRON-PICHE*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

Counterfeitingaffectsawiderangeofmanufacturedproducts,andmoreparticularly
luxuryproducts.Thehighperformancebicycleindustry,anicheindustry,hasbeen
increasinglyfacedwithagreatincreaseincounterfeiting.Surprised?Hereare
variousfactorsthatarecausingthisemergenceofcounterfeitinginanindustrythat
wethoughtspareduntilrecently.
Highperformanceroadbikesareexpensive;infactveryexpensive.Aroadbikelike
theonesweseeontheroadsoftheTourdeFranceretailsforseveralthousandsof
dollars.Nowadays,buyerswhowishtochangebikesareofteninclinedtoshop
online,learningaboutthecharacteristicsofdifferentbikemodelsandtheirprices.In
thiscontext,severalwebsitesaretakingadvantageofthistraffic,offeringtosell
bicycleswhicharesupposedlydirectlysourcedfromthemanufacturers.Actually,
manyofthesewebsitearesellingcounterfeitbikesmadeinclandestinefactories,
featuringapricewellbelowthesuggestedretailprice.Althoughtheofferseems
tempting,thepriceisstillsubstantial,atseveralhundreddollars,since,asinother
industrieswherecounterfeitingisprevalent,counterfeitersaregaininghugeprofitson
eachproductsold.
Anotherissueisthatcounterfeitbikesarenotsoeasytoidentify.Moreoftenthan
not,thecounterfeitbikepresentsasimilargeometrytotheoneofthegenuinebike.
Thedifferencesaremeasuredinmillimetersandtenthsofdegreesandthematerials
usedaresimilar,atleastinappearance.Finally,thecounterfeitbikeoftenpresentsa
masscloseenoughtothatofthegenuinebikeaswellasaestheticdetailslikethe
paintjobanddecalsareoftenreproducedaccurately.Evenforanexpert,itisalmost
impossibletodistinguishagenuinebikefromacounterfeitreplicauponsimplevisual
inspection.
Arethereanynotabledifferencesbetweenagenuinebikeandacounterfeitbike?
Manyexamplesofcounterfeitbikeshavebeenanalyzedonspecializedwebsitesor
articlespublishedinmagazines.Theconclusionisalmostalwaysthesame:even
thoughacounterfeitbikeissimilartothegenuinebike,acounterfeitbikeisnotmade
withthesamematerialsorwiththesamebuildquality.Forinstance,thecarbonfiber
materialsusedinthecounterfeitbiketypicallyhaveanelasticitymodulussignificantly
lowerthanthatofthecarbonfibermaterialsusedintheauthenticbike.Thischoiceof

©CIPS,2015.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheFall2015(Vol.19,no.1)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.198E.

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lessexpensivematerialscancausethebikeframetobemoreflexible,andthus
causeinstabilityathighspeeds.Furthermore,thelay-upofthelayersofcarbonfiber
materialsmaybepoorlyexecutedandmaycauselocalizedweaknesses.These
weaknessescancausecrackswithinthebikeframe.

Theaforementionedissueshaveimplicationsforabuyerwhowouldbetemptedto
purchaseacounterfeitbike,orwhohaspurchasedoneunknowingly.Firstand
foremost,thecounterfeitbikecanbeparticularlydangerousduetomanufacturing
defects,suchastheonesmentionedabove.Often,noqualitycontrolisperformed
afterproductionand,carbonfibercomponentsmaydelaminateprematurely,and
therebyweakenthestructuralintegrityofthebikeframe.

Furthermore,thebuyerislikelytohaveconstantmechanicalproblemswitha
counterfeitmodel.Forexample,theheadsetcanloosenunexpectedly,thepedal
cranksandthebottombracketmaysqueak,thecollaroftheseatpostmaybreak,
etc.Thesemanufacturingdefectscanalsoleadtoprematurewearofother
componentsofthebike,suchasthewheels,tiresorthedrivetrain.

Finally,thebuyerislikelytohavenowarrantywithrespecttotheoverallqualityof
thebike,ifafailureoccursonthebike.Thiscanalsohaveasignificantimpactonthe
possibilityofresellingthisbike.
Inconclusion,ifwemayoffersomeadvice,alwaysexercisecautionwhenshopping
onlineandconsultyourauthorizeddealerforthepurchaseofyournextbike.Evenif
picturesonawebsiteillustrateabikethatseemstobegenuine,itmayverywellbea
counterfeitreplica.Rememberthatifanopportunitysoundstoogoodtobetrue,it
probablyis!
Toseeimagesofcounterfeitandauthenticbikes:
.

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