Egypt Olympic Uniforms Are Nike Knockoffs

[Mithra 1,185]

I thought this article was a bit amusing and embarrasing at the same time. Doesn't surprise me though.

Oy vey -- more Olympic uniform drama!

After Spain, Great Britain and the U.S. caused a hubbub over their uniforms (for being ugly, unpatriotic and unpatriotic, respectively), Egypt must have felt left out. So the Egyptian delegates to the 2012 London Olympics, reports the Telegraph, will be outfitted in Nike and Adidas knockoffs.

Because intellectual property ain't no thang.

The players verified the awkward situation. Yomna Khallaf, competing for Egypt in synchronized swimming, tweeted that her Olympic bag had a giant Nike logo... and that the zippers were marked "Adidas."

Interestingly, the Egyptian Olympic Committee is well aware that its uniform supplier is handing them knockoff goods. Committee chairman General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali confirmed to the AP, "We signed with a Chinese distributor in light of Egypt's economic situation."

Which sounds rather sensible -- in a struggling country, why waste thousands of bucks on brand-name athletic gear? -- but is certainly not enough to please Nike. The company sent a letter to the Egyptian Olympic Committee, stating that "Nike consistently acts to protect its brand and actively engages with law enforcement agencies and Customs authorities to stop counterfeit product reaching consumers and athletes." In other words, don't buy the fake stuff.

According to the BBC, the EOC and Nike are now "in discussions" over the matter. While it's a little late to pull the plug on all the uniforms, seeing as the whole shebang kicks off tomorrow, perhaps Egypt could take a page out of Ralph Lauren's book and simply promise to do better next time.

Should Nike forgive Egypt's thriftiness or come down hard on the issue of knockoffs?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/egypt-olympic-uniforms_n_1706043.html

[NY_BX 397]

I thought this article was a bit amusing and embarrasing at the same time. Doesn't surprise me though.

Oy vey -- more Olympic uniform drama!

After Spain, Great Britain and the U.S. caused a hubbub over their uniforms (for being ugly, unpatriotic and unpatriotic, respectively), Egypt must have felt left out. So the Egyptian delegates to the 2012 London Olympics, reports the Telegraph, will be outfitted in Nike and Adidas knockoffs.

Because intellectual property ain't no thang.

The players verified the awkward situation. Yomna Khallaf, competing for Egypt in synchronized swimming, tweeted that her Olympic bag had a giant Nike logo... and that the zippers were marked "Adidas."

Interestingly, the Egyptian Olympic Committee is well aware that its uniform supplier is handing them knockoff goods. Committee chairman General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali confirmed to the AP, "We signed with a Chinese distributor in light of Egypt's economic situation."

Which sounds rather sensible -- in a struggling country, why waste thousands of bucks on brand-name athletic gear? -- but is certainly not enough to please Nike. The company sent a letter to the Egyptian Olympic Committee, stating that "Nike consistently acts to protect its brand and actively engages with law enforcement agencies and Customs authorities to stop counterfeit product reaching consumers and athletes." In other words, don't buy the fake stuff.

According to the BBC, the EOC and Nike are now "in discussions" over the matter. While it's a little late to pull the plug on all the uniforms, seeing as the whole shebang kicks off tomorrow, perhaps Egypt could take a page out of Ralph Lauren's book and simply promise to do better next time.

Should Nike forgive Egypt's thriftiness or come down hard on the issue of knockoffs?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/egypt-olympic-uniforms_n_1706043.html

I noticed in Egypt all these name brands are sold at incredibly low prices. When I verified the 'fine print' of course it says 'Made in China.' I showed that to my now husband and some of his friends. They claim that it is the real thing and that if it isn't, they don't honor copyright or intellectual property laws of any kind. The discussion went on to downloading movies illegally. Needless to say, I was infuriated, given I work in that industry. When I told them that by downloading a movie illegally, you're stealing food away from my husband, they were baffled. Well, I told them 'when you do that, I can't get paid for my job, therefore, we don't eat.' All this said, no, I don't think Nike should forgive them; they should be fined heavily. One thing is wearing an ugly 'unpatriotic' uniform, albeit original. But copyright infringement is a whole different thing.

[Mithra 1,185]

Egypt is lousy with knock offs. I saw all kinds there. I think my favorite was Adidos.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Mithra

[NY_BX 397]

Egypt is lousy with knock offs. I saw all kinds there. I think my favorite was Adidos.

Terrible! It's funny, but if you think about how many people may be losing their jobs thanks to this $hiet then is no laughing matter.

[Mithra 1,185]

I find counterfeit items disgusting, personally. I'd rather have a purse bought at Target than a fake designer bag if I couldn't afford designer. Counterfeit items don't fool anyone and they're super cheap looking.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Mithra

[NY_BX 397]

I find counterfeit items disgusting, personally. I'd rather have a purse bought at Target than a fake designer bag if I couldn't afford designer. Counterfeit items don't fool anyone and they're super cheap looking.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Nike and Adidas, it's still copywrite theft. Egypt would have done better to buy sweats, and have their country logo, and name printed on them. They'd have made points with the international community by being honest, even though they couldn't afford designer uniforms. A poor economic situation is no excuse for theft.

I personally can't careless for wearing a brand name across my chest. The designer doesn't pay me to advertise them. It doesn't prove anything about me, even though most people believe it does. We have a common friend in Egypt that adores Tommy Hilfiger (sp?). He doesn't know TH actually didn't want his designs worn by 'minority groups' as he stated in Oprah's face. The constant advertising of brand names as a personality trait makes me sick. So, I simply don't buy anything that has a brand name visible. If I will become a walking tabloid, I rather wear messages of my belief system, like a shirt I wore to a parade that said "No human is illegal." If I'll be judged, then judge me by my own truth and not Calvin Klein's.

That said, that's far from supporting the counterfeit black market. So yeah, I rather to a unionized Target before I'd ever buy one of those purses at Times Square.

[inlovebutstressed 1]

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Nike and Adidas, it's still copywrite theft. Egypt would have done better to buy sweats, and have their country logo, and name printed on them. They'd have made points with the international community by being honest, even though they couldn't afford designer uniforms. A poor economic situation is no excuse for theft.

I personally can't careless for wearing a brand name across my chest. The designer doesn't pay me to advertise them. It doesn't prove anything about me, even though most people believe it does. We have a common friend in Egypt that adores Tommy Hilfiger (sp?). He doesn't know TH actually didn't want his designs worn by 'minority groups' as he stated in Oprah's face. The constant advertising of brand names as a personality trait makes me sick. So, I simply don't buy anything that has a brand name visible. If I will become a walking tabloid, I rather wear messages of my belief system, like a shirt I wore to a parade that said "No human is illegal." If I'll be judged, then judge me by my own truth and not Calvin Klein's.

That said, that's far from supporting the counterfeit black market. So yeah, I rather to a unionized Target before I'd ever buy one of those purses at Times Square.

[sandinista! 1,816]

It's not theft when the people buying knockoffs would never in a million years be able to buy the real thing in the first place. As long as Adidas and Nike continue to run third world sweatshops, **** them.

Nike et al have to know that there are Olympic athletes that are poor. Instead of sponsoring those athletes and buying them gear, they oink in protest like the pigs they are. Knockoffs create their own microeconomies. Hounding poor people who would never be able to otherwise see

movies if they weren't pirated is ridiculous and blatantly lying when you tell them they're stealing food from people in the entertainment industry. No. The bloat at the top of that industry is responsible for that. But it's so much easier to blame it on random poor people in the developing ****ing world. Good grief.

[NY_BX 397]

It's not theft when the people buying knockoffs would never in a million years be able to buy the real thing in the first place. As long as Adidas and Nike continue to run third world sweatshops, **** them.

Nike et al have to know that there are Olympic athletes that are poor. Instead of sponsoring those athletes and buying them gear, they oink in protest like the pigs they are. Knockoffs create their own microeconomies. Hounding poor people who would never be able to otherwise see

movies if they weren't pirated is ridiculous and blatantly lying when you tell them they're stealing food from people in the entertainment industry. No. The bloat at the top of that industry is responsible for that. But it's so much easier to blame it on random poor people in the developing ****ing world. Good grief.

Counterfeit support does not create microeconomies. It actually support sweatshops even more. And no, I am NOT lying when I claim that downloading movies illegally will take food away from a dinner table. I work with these families and I've seen the devastation this has done. I'm not blaming the poor; all they had to do is have a good coach and manager seeking sponsorship and I'm sure any one of those legitimate brands would've jumped in. They didn't oink, like the pigs they are.... Well, in fact, read below....

Nike donating outfits to Egyptian team, replacing counterfeit gear

Luca Bruno / AP

Members of Egypt's soccer team look for seats in early action at the Summer Olympics in London. Nike said it would donate authentic apparel to replace the knockoffs being worn by Egypt's Olympic team.

By Martha C. White

Updated 2:22 p.m. EDT: The Summer Olympics already have their first winner: Egyptian athletes are getting a gift from sneaker and sports apparel giant Nike, after the cash-strapped Egyptian Olympic Committee admitted its team was outfitted with Chinese-made Nike knockoffs.

Nike said it and ATC, its Egyptian distributor, were donating "training and village wear" to the Egyptian Olympians. "The shipment is due to arrive into London tomorrow where it will be delivered to the Egyptian delegation and then embellished and distributed to the athletes," the company said via email. "Our main priority is to provide athletes with authentic Nike product."

The counterfeit uniforms came to light after Egyptian athletes griped via Twitter that their faux Nike gear was poorly made and sported the logos of Nike as well as official sponsor Adidas. Committee chief Mahmoud Ahmed Ali told The Associated Press that Egypt’s economic situation compelled it to sign with a Chinese distributor, and denied knowing the cut-rate goods were counterfeit when they were purchased, according to Egyptian media outlet Ahram Online.

Controversies over athletic uniforms have been rife at this year's Olympics. In addition to the Egyptian knockoffs, United States outfitter Ralph Lauren came under fire for manufacturing the uniforms in China, and Spanish athletes have Tweeted mocking photos of and critical comments about their bright red and yellow uniforms, which the Spanish government received for free.

Nike was smart to take the high road rather than attempt to pursue legal action against the Committee, experts said. Even if Nike has legal grounds to believe that the EOC knowingly bought fakes, it might have a hard time collecting damages if the agency is claiming its troubled finances are the root of the problem, said Michele Forzley, a public and international law attorney.

What’s more, “Even if there was a settlement, it wouldn’t be material to Nike’s numbers at all,” said Sam Poser, managing director at Sterne Agee. Even after absorbing the cost of the athletes' uniforms, Nike stands to get something much more valuable: brand exposure at rival Adidas’ expense.

“It’s putting Nike in the news in the middle of Adidas’ banner sponsorship,” he said.

In previous years, Nike seemed to make an Olympic sport out of making an end run around the advertising bans meant to preserve the value of sponsors’ significant investment. Among other tactics, it sponsored individual teams, passed out flags to spectators and took out prominent billboard space nearby.

This year, its approach was more tongue-in-cheek. Its new ad campaign obliquely references the Olympics without saying the word; the 60-second commercial features an inspirational tagline and music, action shots of athletes riding, running and playing interspersed with images of signs and billboards reading “London.”

The tweak: the athletes are just anonymous people — some of them kids, and the locations are other towns named London around the globe.

While Nike wages a perennial battle against the rampant ripoff of its logo, this instance came with the unexpected perk of media exposure. “If it gets their name in the news in the middle of the Olympics, it’s good,” Poser said. In turning a counterfeiting scandal into an act of corporate generosity, Nike took the ball and ran with it.

Edited July 27, 2012 by NY_BX

[Tota 2]

Anyone seen or tried the Boreo's instead of Oreo's? lol

[Ihavequestions 419]

Anyone seen or tried the Boreo's instead of Oreo's? lol

I was at the supermarket this afternoon and picked up a pack of Boreos. Then I saw Oreos and, of course, switched it up. Woohoo! I've got the real thing!

It's not counterfeit unless there's a law which prohibits copying, and there is no such thing in Egypt. In fact, I can go over to the Library of Alexandria and they will print off a copy of whatever book I would like; it's one of the services they offer.

A $60 pair of shoes is a 360 LE pair of shoes in a place where people struggle to put food on the table for their families.

[sandinista! 1,816]

I guess it's halfway decent Nike is donating gear now. I do find it odd they weren't all over it long before the games even started though. I would be dead surprised if a single multi-millionaire pro b-ball player on the US team paid for a single Nike item they've been sporting though, since before the games even got underway. But that kind of gluttony isn't the problem, it's evil, devious poor people.

Same with studio execs with more money than Scrooge McDuck. The disparity between their paychecks and other studio employees isn't the problem-no it's poor people in developing countries who would never in a million years be able to afford ridiculous and exorbitant licensing fees to see major studio productions legally. They're the big bad thieves. Whatever.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Egypt is lousy with knock offs. I saw all kinds there. I think my favorite was Adidos.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh