Chinese MP3 copies seized at EICMA

Three-wheeler scooter among others seized for being a bit too similar

ITALIAN police seized a motorcycle and scooter at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan last week.

The Guardia di Finanza seized a three-wheeled scooter from the Yiben stand and another unknown motorcycle at EICMA under grounds of falsification and copyright infringment. The Yiben YB 250 ZKT is a direct copy of the Piaggio MP3, claim those who tipped off the Guardia di Finanza.

Yiben are a subsidiary of Kaitong Industrial, a Chinese manufacturer of over 85 powered two wheelers with a workforce of over 600 and a factory of over 100,000 square-metres. Yiben's products include generators, engines and motorcycles. Their motorcycles are mainly small-capacity scooters but they also make a motorcycle and a handful of maxi-scooters.

According to a statement on Yiben's website: 'our series of motorcycles have earned a good reputation with clients both at home and abroad for their reliable quality, innovative designs, and reasonable prices''.

Last year, we reported on a Chinese copy of a Suzuki Van Van 125 called a Skyteam V-Raptor 125, which cost roughly two-thirds of the Suzuki it was copying. There's progress for you.