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Cyclone Idai Strikes Three Nations in Southeast Africa; Supreme Clothing Brand Battles Against "Legal Fakes"; A Video Game Collection Sets a Guinness Record

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Southeast Africa is the scene of our first report today on CNN 10.

I`m Carl Azuz. Thank you for watching the show.

First, there was severe flooding. The nations of Malawi and Mozambique saw one and a half million people affected by heavy rains. Then, a week later
 

Malawi [məˋlɑwɪ] n. 马拉威（东南非一共和国）

Mozambique [͵mozəmˋbik] n. 莫桑比克（国名，位于非洲东南部）

on March 14th, Cyclone Idai made landfall in coastal Mozambique and ripped its way inland through Malawi and Zimbabwe.

The destruction was so extensive that some areas were cut off and we`re just getting details about it now. In the Central Mozambican city of Beira,

the International Federation of Red Cross called the damage massive and horrifying. It says it looks like 90 percent of the area has been

completely destroyed. Roads and communication lines are cut and rescuers can`t even get to some places. Bridges were swept away in parts of Zimbabwe.

And across the region, officials don`t know yet how many lives were lost.

The ICRC says more than 150 people are thought to have been killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, but it says that number could go up as

rescue teams make their way through. The president of Mozambique says, with rivers having broken their banks and entire villages having been wiped

out, Cyclone Idai could have killed more than a thousand people in his country alone. He called the situation a large scale humanitarian

disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

A company`s specific symbol, world or logo can be legally protected by a what?

Copyright, trademark, patent, or brand?

When it comes to intellectual property, it`s a registered trademark that protects a logo or business name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Intellectual property includes anything original that comes from the creative mind, songs, movies, art work, clothing brands. Protecting

intellectual property, keeping another person or business from copying the original work and then making money off it has challenged governments and

lawyers for centuries.

For example, what`s happening right now with the brand Supreme. In 2018, fashion platform Lyst called Supreme simple logo the most powerful one in

the fashion industry. So, you can see why someone else might want to take advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: In December of 2018, Samsung executives were on stage in Beijing to unveil their latest smartphone and also to announce a partnership with

one of the world`s hottest and most exclusive fashion brands.

But here`s the thing, these men aren`t the executives of the original iconic Supreme band. This parka isn`t from that Supreme. And most
 

parka [ˋpɑrkə] n.（爱斯基摩人之）有头套的毛皮外套；（户外穿着用的）帕克大衣

importantly, the U.S.-based had absolutely no intention of collaborating with the tech giant.

It turns out, this Supreme is part of a network of companies imitating the original brand in countries all over the world. And what might be even

stranger? Everything the were doing is seemingly legal.

DAVID FISCHER, CEO & FOUNDER, HIGHSNOBIETY, INC.: Essentially, Supreme started as a skate store in Lafayette Street, New York City in 1994. It`s,

of course, much more than a skate brand. It`s a brand that`s unlike many others has managed to resonate the culture. They become, you know, a pop

cultural icon in many ways.

REPORTER: What started out as simple white t-shirts and skate board deck has grown to include Supreme jackets, back packs, teddy bears, dog pools,

Christmas ornaments, Band-Aids, chop sticks, New York City subway cards, cough drops, fire extinguishers, crow bars and hot wheels. There were even Supreme bricks.
 

crowbar [ˋkro͵bɑr] n. 铁橇，铁棍，起货钩

There`s been collaborations with North Face, Nike, the New York Yankee, White Castle, Campbell`s, and even Louis Vuitton, among others. And when

they`re released, Supreme`s products nearly always sell out, sometimes within seconds.

Today, Supreme is valued at around $1 billion. Its business model is a classic example of artificial scarcity.
 

artificial scarcity 人为的稀缺性

FISCHER: Wearing Supreme or buying Supreme is ultimately really about showing that you`re in the know. The sheer fact that it is so hard to get
 

in the know 知道实情, 掌握内幕

it, of course, adds immense value.

REPORTER: Two decades after opening its first store in New York, Supreme had become a truly global brand and was launching a new collection in Italy
 

collection [kəˋlɛkʃən] n. 收藏品，搜集的东西

-- only Supreme wasn`t launching this new collection, another company was.

FISCHER: The first stage counterfeits or knockoffs are, of course, a sign of success. And then I guess, you know, it becomes a slippery slope. You know, how big that knockoff market becomes.
 

counterfeit [ˋkaʊntɚ͵fɪt] n. 伪造物；冒牌货；仿制品

knockoff [ˋnɑkˋɔf] n.（售价低廉的）冒牌服装；名牌仿制品

slippery slope【口】易导致失败(或灾难等)的情况

REPORTER: In November of 2015, a British limited company named International Brand Firm was founded by a Michele Di Pierro who started

registering and licensing the Supreme trademark in Europe. After a success in Italy, Supreme Italia was born.

The clothing looks like Supreme styles, but with larger logos, often cheaper prices and it`s in seemingly abundant supply.

FISCHER: You know, they see a Supreme logo hoodie on somebody on Instagram and that`s what they want. You know, they don`t care what`s the story
 

hoodie [ˋhʊdɪ] n. 兜帽上衣

behind this brand, where does it come from, is it real, is it not. And suddenly, the shop close to where they live actually carries that product.

REPORTER: It took until 2017 for an Italian court to rule that the original brand had, in fact, filed for a trademark in Italy before IBF.

After that decision, authorities seized IBF related merchandise. But the original brand hadn`t registered in Spain and IBF wasted no time creating

Supreme Spain and opening multiple brick and mortar store. It also successfully registered the trademark under the World Intellectual Property Organization,

which is how it`s gained protection in the Chinese market.

In all IBF, claims it`s registered the Supreme brand in a whopping 54 countries. So, how is IBF getting away with this? It`s what trademark lawyers call a legal fake.
 

whopping [ˋhwɑpɪŋ] adj. 巨大的；异常的

get away 逃脱

legal fake 合法的假货

JULIE ZERBO, FOUNDER, THE FASHION LAW: In the United States, parties have to be the first to use a specific trademarks such as Supreme on a specific

type of goods or services such as clothing. That`s called a "first to use" system in Italy or Spain or San Marino. It`s a first to file trademark

system. Meaning that the first party to file a trademark application, regardless of whether or not they`re using it are the ones that are awarded

rights.

REPORTER: Since the Italian court`s earlier decision, tides have turned in IBF`s favor. The E.U. has initially refused to let the U.S.-based Supreme
 

tide [taɪd] n. 形势

registered its trademark logo in Europe because it said the word "supreme" was descriptive and lacking in distinctiveness, though this review process
 

descriptive [dɪˋskrɪptɪv] adj. 描写的；记述的

distinctiveness [dɪˋstɪŋktɪvnɪs] n. 区别性; 差别性

is still ongoing. And when Supreme New York sued IBF in Spain, IBF won in 2018.

ZERBO: This really is a quiet fight for the rights of a brand that is now more or less under siege in countries where it didn`t act quick enough.
 

siege [sidʒ] n.（灾祸等的）不断袭击

SIMONA LAVGANINI, REPRESENT INTERNATIONAL BRAND FIRM: Our claim is that Supreme by Chapter 4 wasn`t a trademark in Italy, it`s not a trademark in

Italy and this is the reason why we cannot really say, in our opinion that there is a copy here.

LUIGI GOGLIA, REPRESENTS INTERNATIONAL BRAND FIRM: The items are totally different. The design of the times is totally different.

REPORTER: But the original company called Supreme Italy a counterfeit.

ZERBO: One, we`re looking at a heavily counterfeited brands. Some of the laws, it`s intangible. It serves to chip away the uniqueness or the appeal
 

chip away 小块小块地弄掉

or the reputation of the brand, while it was once OK to just police the market where you were immediately operating nowadays because of the truly
 

police [pəˋlis] v. 守卫，保卫

global nature of digital media and e-commerce. It`s just a much more complex issue than it ever was in the past.

REPORTER: It`s unclear whether Samsung knew it was dealing with a so- called "legal fake" all along. But the partnership with Supreme Italia was officially cancelled in February of 2019.

Regardless, IBF`s licensed websites are alive and stores continue to operate in several countries.
 

alive [əˋlaɪv] adj. 活着的；现存的

The battlefield for brands in today`s global economy is just that, global. And if the rules don`t change, the quickest copycats might come out on top.
 

copycat [ˋkɑpɪ͵kæt] n. 抄袭者; 模仿者

come out on top 最后以较好的结果收场；获胜

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: It`s one thing to love videogames. It`s another to set a Guinness World Record for having the planet`s biggest collection of them.

Antonio Romero Monteiro has been collecting games for years. He owns games from his childhood, from overseas, some rare games, some he hasn`t played.

Some he hasn`t opened.

He has so many games that it took two Guinness employees a week to count them all. The tally: 20,139. The cost: hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 

tally [ˋtælɪ] n.（比赛中的）比分，得分

Maybe you think he`s a legend like Zelda to have all that metal gear simming around his house. If his final fantasy or call of duty was to have

a world of software craft creating a mass effect, his golden eye for collecting his one Guinness Mario over, even if it`s gala-got to have taken

him longer than a Fortnite to build such a super galaxy of titles, it`s no bio shock that dude`s got game y`all.

I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.

END