Interesting topic. I've been aware of the knock off industry for a while in country's like China and Thailand - but about the low quality, mass produced bronze knockoffs produced in their foundries. Makes sense that the same would apply for mass infringement on painting copyrights as well. Here's a site where some artists are fighting back and actually shutting down some of these foundries.

http://www.bronzecopyright.com/index.php?lang=eng

As a side note, I was alerted earlier this year when someone saw several of my one of a kind originals being sold on ebay from someone in China. The person actually lifted photos of my work from my website and had them for sale on ebay for thousands. Although this was not a case of copyright infringement - just outright fraud. I alerted ebay and they had the person's account shut down immediately.

David, I'd like to read more from you about China,
This one is new:
http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/0035.html

SB, Interesting link, thanks for that!

I was in China from 1993 - '97, so I'm sure some things have changed or evolved, while clearly some things have not. The entire time I was there, the number one complaint - by far - that the Chinese had about their society was not lack of democratic freedom, or the one-child policy or even the human rights situation. It was corruption. The frustration with official corruptiuon was (and I'm sure still is), intense and universal. It affects everyone. I suppose the only ones who don't complain are those in a small minority who are well-connected. The word for it is "guangxi" (gwon-shee) - meaning connections or favors. You need it for everything: from fixing a vcr to getting a life-saving operation. And it often takes the form of outright bribery. A colleague of mine had to give an expensive TV to a doctor before he would operate on his wife. These kind of stories are ubiquitous. I experienced it a little, but was mostly protected by my being a "laowai" (foreigner). But hearing these stories over and over by colleagues, dear friends, strangers - it all made my blood boil,.the injustice of it all. And I believe that this system of guangxi pre-dates the communist revolution. It's endemic to Chinese culture - it's just that now all the real power resides in this one political party - so that's where a lot of your connections need to be made if you want to accomplish anything.

In all the time I was there I met only two true believers in communism, really die-hard, committed communists. They were both Italian, forty- something expats (and they were both named Claudio.... :bewildere ) I never met one Chinese who really believed. Those who wanted or planned to be party members - it was all about getting-well connected, to have a better life. And it could make all the difference in a person's advancement....

China is such a complex and deep society, that I came away knowing that I could live there all my life and never really truly understand it. But the Chinese people are extraordinary and I think they are poised to contribute so much to our emerging global civilization. It is, as has been noted elsewhere, the "country of the future." And the future is soon.

SB, where are you from originally?

Michelle, thanks for your response to my question. This is indeed a very interesting thread.