Imitation is undeniably prevalent in American consumerism. As evident in some of this month’s headlines, not all counterfeited brands and individuals embrace the old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Subsequent to the Casey Anthony verdict, the real “Zanny the Nanny” is suing Casey Anthony for punitive damages. In more hard-hitting legal news, this past week Kim Kardashian announced that she is suing Old Navy for using an apparent lookalike of herself in one of their ads (let’s pray justice prevails there).

This week, however, Asian countries kicked their games up and put the US to shame (and not just in PK’s either). Asian countries have a reputation for being much more, um, cavalier about intellectual property rights than the U.S. People continuously remain unfazed by the fake Luis Vuiton bags and Coach shoes commonly encountered on the streets of Chinatown.

On Tuesday, American Blogger ‘Bird Abroad’ was blown away at the startling discovery she made was while visiting a Chinese city: faux Apple Stores. Nevermind imitating latest devices, but *entire* stores. The blogger walked into what she assumed was a legitimate Apple store in the city of Kunming, China. The store had the patented Apple aesthetics and design: long wooden tables with acrylic info panels, brand posters and signs on walls, product placement, winding staircases leading to an upstairs lounging area, and employees dressed in blue shirts with white ‘Apple’ logos and name tags. The store was a near perfect imitation of the alluring and innovative international Apple stores.

Upon further inspection, the blogger came to the shocking discovery that the entire store was a replica. Tell tale signs included poorly constructed staircases, improperly painted walls, employee name tags reading “Staff”, and a sign on the door reading “Apple Stoer” below the traditional white, illuminated Apple emblem. For a brand so closely associated with impeccable attention to aesthetics, this was a dead giveaway. Shockingly, when the blogger began to speak with and questioned employees, they responded as if they truly believed they were working for an Apple store owned by Apple Corp. The blogger confirmed her suspicions of the knockoff after visiting the Apple site and looking up store locations.

The Wall Street Journal got wind of the story and attempted to inquire further but owners were unresponsive to multiple phone calls. Apple won’t comment on the fake store and have yet to give any indication that they will shut down the operation.

I vote kudos to those undoubtedly rich entrepreneurs running this show and ranking in serious $$ while the real Apple sits back and does absolutely nothing. And kudos to them for not yet testing their luck against a much more formidable and reputable brand: Kim Kardashian.