What Are “Dupes”?
Although the term dupes lacks an official definition, it is derived from the word duplicate and it has gradually become a popular marketing term used to promote products that “duplicate” well-known ones; the use of the term dupes has spread widely across social media notably via influencers.
The primary business model behind dupes relies on triggering an immediate association in consumers’ minds between the original products and their low-priced alternatives: it is based on the renown and the aura of the “duplicated” products.
Therefore, the success of dupes depends exclusively on the use of the well-known trademarks, either directly in the description of dupes on the websites, by promoters (mainly influencers), or via search engines, where queries about well-known products lead users to dupes.
The dupe market cannot exist without referencing well-known trademarks.
The perfume sector is likely one of the most affected by the growing trend of dupes: Perfume dupes refer to fragrances that attempt to replicate the scent of well-known or iconic perfumes and which are sold on dedicated websites or via social media.
Actors involved in the perfume dupes business seem to consider themselves entitled to such use, maliciously pretending that i) freedom of expression and ii) the absence of author rights protection entitle them to freely use the trademark of the well-known “duplicated” perfumes.
To read the entire article written by Jean-Mathieu Bertho with the collaboration of Gaia Albertini published on the daily Lexology Newsletter please click HERE.