Chinese market for fakes launches own brand

Beijing's Silk Street Market, famous for knock-off designer gear from North Face jackets to Louis Vuitton bags, has unveiled its own brand and, apparently with a straight face, warned counterfeiters not to copy it.

The first items to bear the Silkstreet name include "apparel such as neckties, shirts and scarves, as well as a few household items such as tablecloths", Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.



They are marked "quality guaranteed" with a label that tells buyers that "the goods are certified by the Silk Street Market.

"Silkstreet products are sold exclusively in the market. Anyone using the brand outside will be held liable," the Beijing Evening News quoted Wang Zili, general manager of the market, as saying.