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The messed up story why you can find cheap DGK Completes with Koston wheels on Alibaba, why it is legal for the Chinese vendor to sell them, and why you can still get sued if you buy them.
Yes, you can buy DGK Completes with Koston wheels for 25 USD on Alibaba.
And yes, it’s legal.
There is nothing DGK and Eric Koston can do about it.
China has a unique law that states, if you are the first to trademark a logo or name, then this tradeark or logo is yours - no matter if its already registered somewhere else in the world.
This means that either all foreign brands have to run and register their trademarks and logos in China before a Chinese company does so like in the above example, or Chinese companies can register it themselves and then legally manufacture and sell these 'fake' products.
Therefor by Chinese law this is an original DGK complete with original Koston wheels.
However, this is Chinese law and Chinese law is not applicable in USA.
So yes, you can legally buy these completes from Alibaba and ship them to USA.
But right at the U.S. border you will get into trouble for trying to smuggle in fake products.
Two learnings from this experience:
1. If you ever plan to expand your business into China, register your name and trademark in China now. (We can help you with registering and enforcing your trademark in China)
2. If you see a company making money through legal ways that are ethically wrong: run from them. Such companies are even more dangerous than companies doing illegal business.
PS: before buying a fake DGK board from Alibaba, better buy a skateboard complete from Walmart. Its the same quality and the same price, but you won't have to wait 2 months to get the board.
And if you want a real DGK board, then you will have to pay the real price of a high quality product. You get what you pay for.
#dgkallday #erickoston #skateboardmanufacturing #skateboardproduction #fakeboards #chinapatent #chinatrademark