History Main / ShoddyKnockoffProduct

* A small, private historically black college in Lynchburg, Virginia was founded in 1886 as the Lynchburg Baptist Seminary. After being called Virginia Seminary and College for a long time, in 1996 it changed its name to Virginia University of Lynchburg. For its sports teams, it's adopted the branding of "Virginia-Lynchburg", which would lead most people to wrongly assume that it's a campus of the University of Virginia, and the school doesn't really go out of its way to discourage this misconception.

* ''Super Mario World 5'', which is just ''Mickey Mouse III: Balloon Dreams'' with Mario's head pasted on Mickey's body.

** Another [[UsefulNotes/BritishUnis New British University]], formerly the tech college serving Flintshire, wasn't so lucky. It tried to brand itself "Yale College" as one of its original colleges had been founded by a local man, Mr Yale, who later emigrated to New England and founded a university there. Yale University (USA), which calls its undergraduate school "Yale College", protested loudly. The university in Wrexham is now Prifysgol Owain Glyndwr.

* Hockey writer Sean [=McIndoe=] decided to do a [[https://theathletic.com/1864406/2020/06/11/down-goes-brown-meet-the-off-brand-all-stars-a-bad-roster-that-looks-amazing/ "Off-Brand All-Stars"]] team where everyone sounds like a much better NHL star. Three were downright NamesTheSame ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Hall_(ice_hockey,_born_1964) Taylor Hall]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hughes_(ice_hockey,_born_1957) Jack Hughes]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Karlsson_(ice_hockey,_born_1994) Erik Karlsson]]), but all the other players fit this trope very well: Wayne Grotski, Conor [=McDavitt=], Nobby Clark, Michel Dion, Alec Ovenden, Stephane Richer, Joe Sacco, Guy Larose, Louis Robitaille, Pavel Burger, Billy Orr, Bryan Leitch, Bob Blake, Dunc Wilson, Gary Murphy, Martin Brochu and Roy Patrick.

* The "Olympia", also sold as "Canomatic", "Nikai", and other names that include the ones of serious camera makers is just a crappy plastic (film!) camera with the looks of a costly SLR one and often its price too -to use ''a chunk of lead'' to make it heavier is just the smallest issue-. More info [[http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/%22Olympia%22_camera here]]. A digital equivalent to it is also not hard to find on Internet.

** Even though they are compatible with LEGO, many kids are often disappointed to receive Mega Bloks instead of proper LEGO from a parent, relative, or friend unaware of the difference between the two and just going for the cheaper product. Unlike most examples, Mega Bloks doesn't really actively pretend to be LEGO -- its branding and products are fairly well-differentiated from LEGO, and it tends to produce relatively different sorts of sets with a greater emphasis on licensed cash-ins (including Videogame/Halo). According to the Wiki/SCPFoundation, sentient self-assembling LEGO brick specimens aren't particularly pleased to see instances of Mega Bloks either. Yes, even [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] hate Lego knock-offs:

* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanicAnother'', the Soviet Union produces a scaled-back export version of the Shadow [[AMechByAnyOtherName Arm Slave]], dubbed the "Monkey Model" (see Military below).

-->'''Roger:''' The guy told me they were the same thing.
-->'''Paige:''' Daddy, Tamagotchis are '''cute!''' They hatch out of eggs and sleep and play and eat and grow! This thing's just plain nasty.
-->'''Roger:''' Paige, give it a chance! You've only had it one day!
-->'''Tamagrouchy:''' Yeah, listen to baldy.
* One particular ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' story arc involved Granddad getting Huey a "Phony Funstation" as a present. He then tries to justify it by saying it came with a free griddle.

[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/GameBoy https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9b174573_aa91_4ab6_916d_4e2555a3b3f0.png]]]]

* In the late 60s/early 70s, a recording outfit put out compilations of covers from an ensemble calling themselves the Sound Effects. Each cut was performed to sound like its original artist without actually doing so. The more discriminating buying public weren't fooled and this enterprise folded quickly. Even so, groups such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Countdown_Singers the Countdown Singers]] continue this scheme into the present day. In 2012, a knockoff version of "Payphone" by Music/Maroon5 peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart before the real version was available for purchase.

* In the late 60s/early 70s, a recording outfit put out compilations of covers from an ensemble calling themselves the Sound Effects. Each cut was performed to sound like its original artist without actually doing so. The more discriminating buying public weren't fooled and this enterprise folded quickly. Even so, groups such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Countdown_Singers the Countdown Singers]] continue this scheme into the present day. In 2012, a knockoff version of "Payphone" by Music/Maroon5 peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart before the real version was made available for purchase.

* In the late 60s/early 70s, a recording outfit put out compilations of covers from an ensemble calling themselves the Sound Effects. Each cut was performed to sound like its original artist without actually doing so. The more discriminating buying public weren't fooled and this enterprise folded quickly.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' practically begged for this to occur, especially after Niantic/Nintendo made a (since withdrawn) announcement that the game would not be launched in China and were very secretive regarding their launch schedule. As the total result of their actions, [[https://www.techinasia.com/pokemon-go-clone-china ripoffs have flooded the Chinese iOS store, as well as the various unofficial Android appstores in the country]]. Toys and fake trading cards also had the Go logo slapped on them because bootleggers knew it would lure in unsuspecting fans. For the record, the only official product for Go is the Gotcha game accessory.

* Many unlicensed / bootleg NES games, especially by ''Thin Chen Enterprise'' (often sold under the Sachen brand name), are shoddy imitations of licensed ones, e.g. ''Rocman X'' (''VideoGame/MegaManX''), ''Challenge of the Dragon'' (''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''), ''Jurassic Boy'' (''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''), ''Mission Cobra'' (''VideoGame/TwinCobra''), ''Street Heroes'' (''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''), ''Q-Boy'' (''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''), and ''Pipes'' (''VideoGame/PipeDream''). There are also several "pirate original" games based on movie franchises, such as ''Deathbots'' (''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''), ''Harry's Legend'' (''Franchise/HarryPotter''), and ''Titenic'' ''(Film/{{Titanic|1997}}).''

* ''Wolfoo'' is a Vietnamese YouTubeKidsChannel knockoff of ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'' that rakes in millions of views on [=YouTube=]. It has a similar animation style and even reuses sound effects. It also has rather questionable content for a kids' cartoon. Entertainment One is even [[https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/eone-lawsuit-peppa-pig-sconnect-1235162796/ suing]] the company behind Wolfoo.

* In an episode of ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', the eponymous protagonist tries to materialize some roller blades after her aunts won't buy her ones. When she does, they turn out to be knockoffs. She is then told that rules of magic forbid wizards and witches to use their powers to create original-branded products. This is seen later again, when she's babysitting a kid and invites her boyfriend, so she makes some snacks and soft drinks appear and her boyfriend is mistified by his "Popsi" can.

Contrast FollowTheLeader (there is a clear influence, but it's not trying to make you think it's the actual work it's following), SerialNumbersFiledOff (it's almost the same thing as another, but at the very least changes anything copyrighted by someone else) and EffectiveKnockoff (when the knockoff is ''more'' competent than the original thing it's imitating). BlandNameProduct is when it ''looks'' like this in a fictional work, but doesn't come across as such.

* Top Hunter, a plug'n play light gun system, otherwise simply known as "Wireless" ([[https://youtu.be/GoEFTg9iRzU as reviewed by Rerez]]), already rips off the name of a UsefulNotes/NeoGeo game and the controller design of ''VideoGame/BigBuckHunter'', along with including knockoffs of ''VideoGame/Area51'', ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers II'', ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', and ''Ranger Mission'', but what really takes the cake is ''Duck Hunt'', which outright plagiarizes [[VideoGame/DuckHunt the NES game]] down to the sound effects, along with featuring a WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck {{expy}} on the Game Over screen.

* ''Sepia Go!'' is a Chinese mobile port of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. It looks exactly like a low-poly version of ''Splatoon'', reuses music from the game, and has official art from it. Later the creators updated the games to change from the stolen ''Splatoon'' assets with CaptainErsatz and also making the characters turn into robots instead of squids, however it's still a blatant ''Splatoon'' knockoff.

* Website/{{Tropedia}} and Webstie/{{AllTheTropes}} may ''look'' like shoddy knock-offs of TVTropes, but they really aren't; they're actually quite different and cover different subjects.

* After [=McDonald's=] pulled out of Russia in the aftermath of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a trademark was filed for "Uncle Vanya", a restaurant whose logo is just the Golden Arches on its side, modified to look like a Russian "В". (No word on whether [[Theatre/UncleVanya they serve burgers on]] [[{{Pun}} Chekhov's Bun]].)

** While there is some confusion with the other two lines if they were connected to SunGold in some way, there is none with Galaxy Heroes and Muscle Warriors that knocked off a bunch of Galaxy Warriors along with some touches of Galaxy Fighters. At this point, any semblance of quality was gone and there are also some heavy implications that these lines themselves were bootleg...and then [[UpToEleven those bootleg were bootleg.]] meaning some figures like the Iguana ripoff figure could have been a bootleg of a bootleg of a bootleg of a knockoff of a knockoff.

* Subverted with aftermarket clones of Harley-Davidson and Chevrolet engines as while they are effectively unauthorised reproductions of said motors, their quality and performance is either to par with the ones they're imitating, or [[UpToEleven surprass the OEM offerings]] by more than a margin. Harley did [[https://powersportsbusiness.com/uncategorized/2005/03/25/h-d-files-suit-against-ss-cycle/ sue at least two clone manufacturers]] in the 2000s for alleged patent infringement, but the practice still continues to this day, albeit with S&S having to use names [[WritingAroundTrademarks vaguely reminiscent]] of the original Harley engines they were based of, such as the "T-Series" (no, not that Creator/TSeries) clone of the Twin Cam. One manufacturer did gain a dubious reputation though, specifically the [=RevTech=] line of crate engines and transmissions from Custom Chrome--their six-speed gearboxes were described by mechanical engineer and entrepreneur Alan Sputhe, also a purveyor of Harley reproduction engines, as "an engineering abomination". Many a horror story could be found on Harley-Davidson fan forums about its supposed unreliability, and some merely steer clear from them because they're not "American-made" (i.e. made in Korea), though some argued that their quality has improved somewhat over the years.

* Even though they are compatible with {{Franchise/LEGO}}, many kids are often disappointed to receive Mega Bloks instead of proper LEGO from a parent, relative, or friend unaware of the difference between the two and just going for the cheaper product. Unlike most examples, Mega Bloks doesn't really actively pretend to be LEGO -- its branding and products are fairly well-differentiated from LEGO, it's fairly easy to tell the difference when you have one of the same sort of piece from each to observe, and it tends to produce relatively different sorts of sets with a greater emphasis on licensed cash-ins. According to the Wiki/SCPFoundation, sentient self-assembling LEGO brick specimens aren't particularly pleased to see instances of Mega Bloks either...

* '''Star Wars Escape From Hoth'', a hack of VideoGame/{{Asteroids}} for the Atari 2600.