User:Shivertimbers433/knockoff

A knockoff is a manufactured product that copies or imitates the physical appearance of a more expensive or designer product. Unlike counterfeit products, knockoffs do not copy trademarked brand names or logos and are often sold at mainstream retailers. They may still be illegal if they confuse consumers or violate patents. The term knockoff is often used as a pejorative to infer inferior quality, and is often used synonymously with dupe (duplicate), ripoff, replica, imitation and clone.

Origin of term
The term knockoff comes from the phrase to knock off, meaning to do something hastily, which was first used in the 1800s. The phrase "knocked off" also became associated with theft around 1919.

In fashion
Apparel (clothing, shoes, accessories, etc.) are classified as "functional items" and their designs are generally not protected by copyright laws in the many countries, including the United States and United Kingdom. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, designs of useful articles like clothing and accessories are only protected "to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article." While some designs can be protected with a design patent that lasts 15 years, the cost and time to receive a design patent, which is typically over year, can be prohibitive due to the cyclical and seasonal nature of fashion.

The concept of knockoff clothing dates back to the early 1900s, when designers would copy clothing from Paris fashion houses. In the United States, department stores would manufacture copies of the latest popular designs from Paris or worn by Hollywood performers. Around 1913, French designer Paul Poiret discovered inexpensive replicas of his designs were being sold in the United States. In the the 1940s, around the time designers began putting visible labels on their clothing, French fashion houses like Chanel and Dior would license their designs and provide materials to American department stores to manufacture knockoffs, which would be sold alongside their higher-priced authentic counterparts.

In furniture
Knockoffs are pervasive in the furniture industry. In the United States, furniture designs can be protected by design patents that last for 15 years, but are typically not eligible for trademark protection as a functional product. In Europe, furniture designs are protected as intellectual property. Architectural Digest noted with the rise of e-commerce, "hundreds of home decor sites [sell] knockoff Eames, Kartell, and Le Corbusier models at IKEA prices." The Eames Lounge Chair has been cited as one of the most copied pieces of furniture. Its manufacturer, Herman Miller, launched a campaign warning customers about knockoff products in 1957.