Copying is Easy, Creating is Another Thing
In recent days, social media has been flooded with videos showing Chinese factories producing products visually identical to those of brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, or Hermès. For many viewers, this raises an uncomfortable question:
Why pay thousands of dollars for a bag that, according to multiple TikTok users, is made the same way in China for a fraction of the price?
But that’s not the real question.
The real question is: What are you actually paying for when you buy an original brand?
You’re not just buying an object—you’re buying history, ethics, and innovation.
Let’s take a clear example: Dyson.
A company now synonymous with cutting-edge technology in home appliances. But behind its $400 hairdryers and futuristic vacuum cleaners, there’s something you don’t see on the surface:
- Over 5 years of research for each product
- Dozens of failed prototypes
- Engineers, designers, physicists, and technicians working for months to make one idea functional
- Patents, licenses, testing, errors, redesigns, and refinements
That’s intellectual property. That’s innovation.
And that cannot be copied.
Intellectual property is not a luxury—it's a right.
In countries like the Dominican Republic, Law No. 20-00 on Industrial Property protects not only registered trademarks, but also:
- Industrial designs
- Utility models
- Patents
- Trade secrets
On an international level, treaties such as the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement (under the WTO) reinforce this framework, recognizing that copying a product means stealing the invisible value that makes it possible.
It’s not just a bag.
It’s the result of a vision, a brand identity, a philosophy.
Why is all this happening now?
Because we are in the midst of a silent trade war, where what’s at stake isn’t just product pricing—it’s control of the industrial narrative.
For years now, the United States has imposed tariffs, technological restrictions, and blockades on Chinese products. Though historically a champion of free trade, the U.S. now fiercely defends its industry and intellectual property.
China, in response, doesn’t just produce more—it shows more. Instead of denying that they copy, they flood the internet with content suggesting they manufacture for everyone—even the most exclusive brands.
“You hit us with tariffs? Then we’ll show you that luxury is also born in our factories.”
But the problem isn’t that China manufactures.
The problem is when it manufactures without ethics, without rights, without history—and without accountability for what it replicates.
Copying is easy. Creating is something else entirely.
A country that prides itself on replicating foreign brands, but doesn’t invest decades in building its own, is making money, yes…
But it's losing legitimacy.
True luxury, original design, ethical technology, and deep innovation cannot be measured by price alone—or by the visual similarity shown in a factory video.
That has a name: intangible value.
And in a world saturated with replicas, authenticity is the new gold.
Those who create, take risks.
Those who copy, depend.
The question is not whether China has the capacity to produce luxury. It does.
The question is whether it is willing to do so with the same respect for time, authorship, and ethics that true development demands.
Because in this global game, those who only imitate... never lead.