Is It Too Good to be True?
It's hard to not walk on eggshells when it comes to taking quotes from other sources, as plagiarism can break a career just as fast as it had started. When weighing the legality of the usage of other's work it comes down to the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used in relation to the copyrighted, and the effect of the use upon the potential market of the copyrighted work.
"Fair Use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." - copyright.gov
AliExpress is a major platform "for ecommerce entrepreneurs to find dropshipping products." Products are so cheap on AliExpress because you are most likely buying straight from the manufacturer through a different supplier. Dropshipping is "an order fulfillment method that does not require a business to keep products in stock. Instead, the store sells the product and passes on the sales order to a third-party supplier, who then ships the order to the customer." They are known to have "dupes" for name brand products, such as Lululemon. This is actually a great site to but these products from, as the quality is extremely similar as many of the products come from the same or related manufacturers. The dropshippers profit greatly from a setup like this, selling out products without having to do the marketing for that sale. Most suppliers on AliExpress are legitimate, but those few fraud business owners that "list copyrighted or counterfeit goods on the platform," and can cause issues for these dropshippers.
"Counterfeit goods are fake products that carry the name and logo of a particular brand. The items may appear legitimate and safe but are produced and sold illegally. Then you purchase counterfeits, you're not actually buying from the brand owner." - oberlo.com
On AliExpress you can buy multiple products that 'go viral' as dupes for other products.These products are completely legal and a great resource for people to but high quality products without breaking the bank. It crosses the line and becomes illegal and copyright infringement as soon as a company places the logo of another on the products. It is recommended to avoid products related to movies, TV shows, video games, as well as cosmetics, handbags, clothing, watches, and electronics. Selling these products can give these sellers bad reputations, but also get them in trouble with the law. These sellers would face legal trouble, but the buyers would not as long as they did not bulk order these products. Yes this fraud is a big deal, but the fault falls on the sellers.
AliExpress has a portion of their website that lists their prohibited items, but they relate more to specific, obvious, items. To avoid these illegal products, it is just best to watch out for branded goods on the site. Your package can be seized by customs if these branded products are searched. Do your research and read your reviews- be careful, smart, and realistic and you'll avoid trouble with these products.
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