It may seem like you’ve already seen counterfeit versions of just about everything in China, ranging from fake versions of luxury brand-name handbags, iPhones, hairy crab, to even fake inedible salt. And now, you can add another name to that list: a fake world-famous financial institution.
A Goldman Sachs operating in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen is not affiliated whatsoever with the famous New-York-based Goldman Sachs Group despite the fact that they have nearly identical names and absolutely identical logos.
A unnamed receptionist with Goldman Sachs (Shenzhen) Financial Leasing Company confirmed that their company has no official connection with their more popular US namesake, further clarifying that “Shenzhen” is an added part of their name.
Over on the other side of things, Connie Ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the real Goldman Sachs, said there is no association between the US investment bank and the Shenzhen company. Ling added that they are looking into the matter.
The Chinese “Goldman Sachs” has been operating in Shenzhen since May 2013, and uses the same Chinese characters for its name as the US investment bank. They even use the same font for its English name.
But as we’ve seen, it can be tough to win a copyright case in China, even if it’s your own name you’re trying to defend. Michael Jordan recently lost a legal challenge to prevent a Chinese sportswear company from using the Chinese version of his name, Qiaodan (乔丹). The defence had successfully argued in a previous copyright case against Nike that “Qiaodan” belongs to the public domain in China.