Sept 10, 2001

Taiwan, once known for its reputation as an Asian center of counterfeit products, now ironically has a problem of this kind in reverse order.

The economic press in Taipei reports that Taiwan's first-tier motherboard companies' development in China has been seriously hurt by the alarming amount of counterfeit products being sold there, a Taiwan newspaper reported. Quoting an industrial insider, as many as one in five motherboards being sold in China is an imitation. Motherboard companies said that since the manufacturers do not have to pay research, training and marketing costs as well as import tax, the counterfeit goods can be sold quite profitably at lower prices than the real McCoy.

Industry sources revealed that counterfeit motherboard production in China has become more and more organized, and now operates through a complete upstream and downstream chain. Manufacturers there can make products almost the same as brand name boards, even imitating the specially made laser stickers and distinctively designed PCBs the Taiwan makers have tried to use to stop the practice. Making matters worse is that the counterfeit manufacturers can also launch products shortly after Taiwan motherboards hit the market, cutting heavily into the profits of Taiwan companies.

According to sources quoted, counterfeit products of Asustek Computer, Gigbyte Technology, Micro-Star International, Elitegroup Computer Systems, Epox Computer, Chaintech Computer and Abit Computer can be seen across China, and first-tier motherboard makers' high-end products are the illegal factories' favorites.

Industry sources indicated tat according to first-tier companies' recent investigations, the sales of unlicensed products are rampant in Peking, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanchang, Shenyang, Xian, Kunming and Chengdu.

Further worries of Taiwan makers are that these counterfeits may also hit the export market of Mainland China, one company spokesman told Taiwan Technology.