What a really good question! I have some thoughts...
The state of the world right now is that German (and most western) engineering design and manufacturing carry a significantly higher cost than that originating from - just as an example - China. A very clever design that produces a significantly improved sound from relatively cheap components is likely to get copied. If the OEM charges a hefty premium for this product, it's just begging to get copied. I want to make it very clear I don't support counterfeiting in any shape or form. But the harsh reality is there's nothing we can do to stop it. The sketchy profits from copying/counterfeiting extend far wider than just that of the unscrupulous seller - the sellers' platform (e.g., eBay) and even the sellers' governments are likely more than happy to turn a blind eye to all of this. Yes, I know eBay legally has to refund IF a buyer complains, but what percentage of buyers even realize they've been conned? I would guess it's a very small number, given how good some of these copies have become.
Historically, all forms of western engineering have been widely copied, including entire passenger and military aircraft. I'm not making veiled insinuations about where the best design has come from - I'm simply stating who (predominantly) copied whom. Obviously, globalization and the internet is now levelling the playing field. In the IEM arena, there has been very good design/engineering/manufacturing coming from Chinese companies like FLC. As much as I love the IE800 and appreciate (most parts of!) its clever design, the USD$350 FLC 8S is, IMHO, superior in pretty much every regard. It uses a very clever tunable system of ports before and aft of its dynamic driver and then two BA drivers with another adjustable mid/high-frequency filter in the nozzle. It can be tuned to give the same sparkling highs and thumping sub-bass (without the mid-bass bleed) that you get from the IE800. Given the components/drivers/filters and the lower price (relative to the IE800), I suspect the profit margins you'd get from producing a fake FLC 8S wouldn't be worth the trouble. Why bother making a fake Zero Audio Carbo Tenore, when the (already very nice sounding) original is only $40?!? You'd have to sell an awful lot of fakes to make it worthwhile
The question I have going forward is, are these western companies really going to be able to continue to charge such large premiums for what is often an assembly of fairly cheap components? I'm torn on this value-for-money issue. There needs to be incentives for good quality R&D to create the next greatest audio breakthrough - and some headphones, e.g., Shure's clear-shell SE846 with its welded plates for its low-pass filter, or the KSE1500 with its own electrostatic amp, could (perhaps?) justify a high price tag since they'd be expensive/difficult to manufacture, even as fakes. On the other hand, some recent multi-driver IEMs, such as 64 Audio's TIA Fourte, are selling for prices so outrageous it's laughable ($3600+tax), given that there's nothing in them but off-the-shelf $0.50 drivers (oh, and BTW, the Fourte's sound is nothing that special either). Here's another example - going back to that clever German engineering... I recently picked up a pair of Beyerdynamic Xelentos. Now I do like the Xelentos; overall, I prefer them to the IE800. They don't have quite the level of sub-bass, and tend to be a bit weightier in the mid-range and mid-bass, but I find their treble smoother, more resolving and less fatiguing than that of the IE800. However, the Xelentos are plastic shelled, single dynamic driver IEMs that sell for $1000. Anybody want to bet we'll be seeing some fake Xelentos on eBay in 1, 2, 3....?
....all the counterfeits, which may or may not sound ok are really just cheap copies. 
