3 ms·

This makes me wonder how imports are handled. If I can buy a third party power supply from a US based order system (amazon), and this ps is dangerous (eg. those

by josho 10y ago

This makes me wonder how imports are handled. If I can buy a third party power supply from a US based order system (amazon), and this ps is dangerous (eg. those knock off Apple power supplies). How is this legal, presumably the device hasn't passed safety regulations here. So, there must be some way to stop this product from entering the country. Why isn't that mechanism happening? Same applies for this device. If a mfg is infringing on copyright then shouldn't we have a mechanism to stop it from being imported? It strikes me that we have two laws in this country. The laws for those with money/power (e.g. MPAA to protect US corporate media interests), and then those same laws that are not applied to protect consumers. Is the only difference that MPAA has lawyers to ensure copyright infringement stops while consumers don't?

euroclydon 10y ago
Right, but can't Amazon or Home Depot be sued?
ehntoo 10y ago
I cannot speak to copyright, but there seem to be mechanisms in place for stopping import of trademark infringing goods to the US. See for example the run-in which SparkFun had with importing lookalike Fluke Multimeters a few years ago: https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428 https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428 and previous HN discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7428799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7428799 This might actually do more to confirm than dispute your comment about "laws for those with money/power", though.
oliwarner 10y ago
There are mechanisms for policing (certainly in the UK) this but: - Containers are MASSIVE. Seriously. You can fit hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of plug-sized widgets in a container. - Millions of containers leave China every day. - People lie about certification, provenance, component specs. Even if you do test one, the next 999,999 are probably all using shitty capacitors. - There are many ports that don't all share data. The only stuff that gets refused are where you have repeat offenders coming into the same port with the same dangerous stuff. And yes, MPAA and other trademark bandits with all the cash can pay to police this stuff. It isn't fair... But I'm not sure the world would have the appetite for absorbing the costs in import tax. A testing container of plugs would push the price up way beyond $30 a unit and that's testing 1/1000. Demanding certified manufacturing might be an option but that's expensive for China so they'll resist (or do a job equally shitty as the plugs they'd be supposed to police).

by josho 10y ago

euroclydon 10y ago

Right, but can't Amazon or Home Depot be sued?

ehntoo 10y ago

I cannot speak to copyright, but there seem to be mechanisms in place for stopping import of trademark infringing goods to the US. See for example the run-in which SparkFun had with importing lookalike Fluke Multimeters a few years ago: https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428 https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428 and previous HN discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7428799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7428799 This might actually do more to confirm than dispute your comment about "laws for those with money/power", though.

oliwarner 10y ago

There are mechanisms for policing (certainly in the UK) this but: - Containers are MASSIVE. Seriously. You can fit hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of plug-sized widgets in a container. - Millions of containers leave China every day. - People lie about certification, provenance, component specs. Even if you do test one, the next 999,999 are probably all using shitty capacitors. - There are many ports that don't all share data. The only stuff that gets refused are where you have repeat offenders coming into the same port with the same dangerous stuff. And yes, MPAA and other trademark bandits with all the cash can pay to police this stuff. It isn't fair... But I'm not sure the world would have the appetite for absorbing the costs in import tax. A testing container of plugs would push the price up way beyond $30 a unit and that's testing 1/1000. Demanding certified manufacturing might be an option but that's expensive for China so they'll resist (or do a job equally shitty as the plugs they'd be supposed to police).