An ongoing project documenting the "identity theft" — where goods and services are sold not on the basis of the quality but a stolen brand identity. In some cases the name of the entity is changed but some remnants of the "host" identity.
This project looks at various aspects surrounding the "need" to copy: the idea of profit or cashing in on an existing name, the idea of fooling someone to think its a certain product with certain promises. Ultimately, this sort of a phenomenon is more common in poorer societies due to the aspirational class seeking similar goods as their richer cousins have even if, the quality may be substandard.
What is also interesting is that this branding crosses over sectors, so its not just a Xike knocking off Nike (same sector), but in the Sun Microsystems knockoff is actually a glass company — which has a vague connection to silica or microchips!
It would be interesting to see if more fake brands are sold than "real" brands in the world.
