Technology companies and other industrial firms are used to guarding against the theft of intellectual property by unscrupulous businesses in developing countries.
技术行业以及其他工业一直在保护自己的知识产权不受发展中国家一些不择手段的商业行为的侵害。
But the latest audacious rip-off to emerge from China strikes at the heart of America's favourite pastime - television.
但是最近来自中国的肆无忌惮的山寨行为已经蔓延到了美国最受欢迎的休闲娱乐核心——电视节目。
A popular sitcom is accused of copying classic U.S. series such as Friends, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.
一部广受欢迎的情景喜剧被指抄袭美国经典喜剧《老友记》，《生活大爆炸》以及《老爸老妈的浪漫史》等。热播：但《爱情公寓》的中国粉丝怀疑其与美国情景喜剧雷同。
The show, iPartment, adheres the old sitcom trope of following a group of 20-something friends as they experience life in a big city.
《爱情公寓》剧组坚持自己的设定——一群二十岁左右朋友在大都市的生活经历——只是十分传统的情景喜剧设定。
But sharp-eyed fans have noticed that the series seems to be uncomfortably close to some specific American hits.
但是目光敏锐的粉丝一经发现该剧与美国一些热门剧雷同，让人十分不适。
The stars of the series live together in two neighbouring apartments in a tower block - exactly the situation in Friends, but with New York transferred to Shanghai.
该剧中的角色住在一栋公寓的两间套房——这正是《老友记》的场景设置，只是将纽约换做了上海。
One of the characters is a university lecturer, and another a radio host - not a world away from palaeontologist Ross and actor Joey.
《爱情公寓》中一个角色是大学讲师，而另一个则是电台主持人——这和古生物学教授Ross以及演员Joey的职业设定十分相似。大家来找茬:这部中国电视剧被认为与NBC电视台90年代热播剧《老友记》极为相似。
The bizarre parallels led to an online backlash from Chinese watchers of iPartment, who took to micro-blogs to express their anger and post screenshots and video clips highlighting the similarities.
这些让人惊讶的雷同让《爱情公寓》的中国观众十分震惊，他们在微博上表达他们的愤怒，并且用截图和视频剪辑来点明这些相似之处。
'Many lines and scenes have been completely ripped off from American shows, ' a web user named Grace told the Global Times.
“很多台词和场景完全山寨了美国节目，”用户名为Grace的网友告诉《环球时报》的记者。
'I thought it was shameful to do this. It is an insult to the American TV producers and an insult to the screenwriters and producers of original Chinese TV shows.'
“我认为这样的做法是十分不道德的。这既损害了美国电视节目制作者的利益，也是对中国原创电视节目的编剧及制作人的侮辱。”
Another incredulous fan wrote, 'Is [iPartment] only intended for those born after 1990, who have not watched Friends?', according to the Daily Telegraph.
据《每日电讯》报道，另一位心怀疑虑的粉丝写道，“《爱情公寓》的目标收视群是否仅仅只是那些90后出生并未看过《老友记》的人？”明星：自2009年《爱情公寓》开播以来那些炙手可热的青年演员。
While the show has been on the air since 2009, it has recently started to reach a much wider audience after being picked up by leading cable networks.
自09年开播，最近该剧因为开始利用网络平台播放而拥有了更为广泛的收视群。
Last weekend, producers were forced to admit taking ideas from others, as they publicly apologised for using a comedian's jokes without attribution, and offered to compensate him for the plagiarism.
上周末，制作人被迫承认借鉴了其他电视剧的创意，他们为使用一位“段子”名人的笑话却并未注明出处而向公众道歉，并且为抄袭行为而向原作者进行了赔偿。
However, a spokesman for the programme denied stealing from Western shows - and instead blamed the similarities on a lack of imagination in resorting to sitcom clichés.
然而，该节目的发言人否认剽窃西方电视剧，反而指责这些相似之处都是缺乏想象的情景喜剧老梗。
'Our creation is not plagiarism, but more a homage to the American sitcom.'
“我们没有抄袭美国情景喜剧，”他说，“喜剧有自己的套路，比如俊男美女或者小气鬼。很多喜剧都有这些人物。我们的创意并非剽窃而是向美国情景喜剧致敬。”
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