Ed wrote on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:06:14 GMT:

??>> "Ian Hoare" wrote ........
??>>>
??>>> .....there's an enormous amount of counterfeiting carried
??>>> out, and it is the consumer who very often who gets
??>>> duped...........a good product should sell under its own
??>>> identity, and shouldn't need to borrow a name from
??>>> somewhere else. And that should apply, in my view to
??>>> cheeses (cheddar and feta for example), to coffee (Blue
??>>> Mountain is more than simply a colour and a geographical
??>>> description) and to a great many other products.
??>>>
??>> I know it is not quite the same, but European (French)
??>> wineries themselves indulge in some "marketing
??>> subterfuge".
??>>
??>> I refer to the marketing (in the UK) of some pretty
??>> ordinary French wine as "Kiwi Cuvee".
??>>
??>> st.helier
??>>
ER> As an inveterate and unapologetic free-market capitalist,
ER> I've got to wonder about the reluctance of the EU, the USA,
ER> and others to allow the play of the free market. If
ER> "Champagne", tokaji, cognac, cheddar, or whatever product
ER> is good, why can't it compete?

ER> If a label says quite clearly "California Champagne" would
ER> it be unreasonable to assume that a drinking age consumer
ER> would be literate enough to realize it doesn't come from Ay
ER> or Epernay?

ER> I doubt that someone seeking Champagne would find Andre to
ER> be a suitable substitute.

ER> The magic of the marketplace is that if someone labels a
ER> product misleadingly, it won't take long for the consumers
ER> to migrate away from that product. In other words the
ER> practice will not be rewarded by success. Whenever
ER> governments get involved, the result is always something
ER> less than beneficial to the citizens.

ER> If, on the other hand, the marketplace finds "California
ER> Champagne" at 3 Euros a bottle to be a preferable drink to
ER> something "authentic" but of marginal quality then Andre
ER> will make inroads into the business of the lesser regional
ER> producers. They, will then be forced to improve their
ER> product (good outcome!) or leave the marketplace (not bad
ER> either!)

I'm afraid that I tend to agree with you Ed. Governments have a
role in protecting the populace from actual harm but the
attitude "We bureaucrats and politicians, being superior beings,
need to protect you dim plebs from scams we'd never be taken in
by" is one that riles me. And I'm generally regarded as a
flaming liberal! There's a lot to be said for real capitalist
competition!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not