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UK car site ripped off by Chinese

Flattery or forgery?

Those behind the New Car Net Web site are gobsmacked after they found that a Chinese operation had "completely ripped off" the content and design of the UK new car guide.

They've discovered that Chinese Web site Car-Good.net looks suspiciously like their own - and they're not happy.

Director Massimo Pini told The Register: "There are some very serious copyright issues here. We just looked at the pages open-mouthed, not sure at first whether to be flattered that they had picked our site and content - or angry at the blatant forgery. The bogus site has copied New Car Net right down to the tabs and buttons."

Even though the imitation Web site is a poor copy of the original with many of the buttons and features not working, New Car Net has tried to contact those behind the site for an explanation. So far they have yet to hear a peep back from them.

While the UK operation is considering its options - even pursuing a legal challenge - at this stage they're still taking advice about what they can do next.

And they're still scratching their heads as to the motive behind the crude copy. One idea is that the site is there merely to generate ad revenue. But at this stage it's just a guess.

No from Car-Good was available for comment at the time of writing. ®

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