Counterfeit Goods

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Counterfeiting

Trading Standards departments are increasingly finding inferior, illegally copied and often unsafe goods on sale to the public, on the Internet, in shops and on temporary stands. These have been produced or imported by unscrupulous businesses or individuals capitalising on well-known company names and brands, or the original work of others.

The practice of 'counterfeiting' has serious adverse effects on traders selling genuine goods, and is prejudicial to companies and individuals whose names are illegally applied to goods, or who own the brands or the legal right to reproduce original works.

Renfrewshire Council's Trading Standards Service offers guidance on a wide range of issues which concern counterfeiting. This page will give you information on:

• What products are affected?
• How does the law control the problem?
• Who commits offences?
• How to avoid problems
• What to look for
• What are the consequences of contravention?
• Relevant legislation

What products are affected?

There is an ever increasing range of products which are being illegally copied, including:

• designer labelled clothing, sportswear and equipment, watches, perfume and cosmetics, belts and bags, pens
• films and music on CD's and DVD's
• literary works such as books
• artistic works such as pictures, photographs and posters, china figures and models
• computer software such as games, operating systems (e.g. Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 etc) business programmes and material for decoding satellite television broadcasts.

Other areas of illegal copying which can cause serious safety concerns include the counterfeiting of prescription drugs, vehicle components and food products.

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How does the law control the problem?

The law creates a number of criminal offences and civil remedies, which are contained in Trade Marks, Copyright and Trade Descriptions legislation.

A trade mark is used to indicate a connection between goods and a person/company having the right to use the mark - many famous household brand names are trade marks. A trade mark can be any sign capable of being represented graphically. It may be words, designs, letters, numerals, the shape of goods or the shape of packaging.

Copyright is a property right whereby a person assumes rights to original literary (including computer programmes), dramatic, musical or artistic works (including graphic works such as paintings, cartoon characters, drawings or diagrams) sound recordings and films.

A trade description is almost any indication (including a trade mark) which a person is likely to think applies to the goods and therefore implies the authenticity of origin from, or quality of, the manufacturer or producer.

It is illegal to:

• apply another person's registered trade mark, or something likely to be mistaken for a registered trade mark to goods or packaging
• infringe copyright by copying a copyright work without the authorisation or licence of the trade mark or copyright owner
• apply any other indication to goods or packaging likely to mislead as to the identity of the manufacturer or producer.

An offence under copyright legislation can be committed by the very act of copying, even if no statement as to authenticity is made.

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Who commits offences?

Criminal offences under the legislation in general cover all stages from manufacture, distribution and supply by retail of offending items.

Copyright legislation specifically prohibits the importation of infringing copies, and the manufacture and/or possession of articles used in their production (e.g. equipment, printing plates, etc).

Trade Marks legislation specifically prohibits the illegal application of registered trade marks to goods, packaging and labelling materials, and business paperwork, and the use and/or possession of such materials (including for advertising).

Trade Descriptions legislation covers virtually any possibility where a mark, packaging or a description are likely to refer to goods and constitute a false trade description.

Importation, manufacturing and distribution offences are regarded most seriously by Trading Standards Departments and the Courts. Retailers, however, although often acquiring offending goods innocently, may nevertheless be prosecuted for exposing for sale or hire, or selling or hiring such goods if they cannot show that they behaved responsibly.

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How to avoid problems

Retailers, particularly market traders, will often have their stocks or "counterfeit" goods seized by Trading Standards Departments and be unable or unwilling to identify their supplier. This may be likely to result in the retailer being prosecuted and the supplier network left untouched. Trading Standards Departments and the Courts will need to be convinced that, at the time of buying his stock, the retailer took reasonable steps to satisfy himself that they were genuine. The best way to be able to show this is only to purchase branded goods from authorised wholesalers and distributors.

In particular:

• only purchase branded goods from legitimate sources - don't buy from a man n the pub, or car park, whose full name you don't know, whom you have never met before and who you are unable to contact again
• wherever you buy, always get an itemised and dated receipt - don't risk it if the seller will not give you one bearing his name and address and be prepared to endorse it to the effect that the specified goods are genuine
• don't buy goods if they are too cheap to realistically be genuine, brand name products, and be wary if you are told they are "seconds" or "rejects".

What to look for

An examination of the goods and packaging will often give you an indication as to whether they are genuine. In genera., the quality of materials used, packaging and printing will be inferior for counterfeit goods. In particular, be suspicious of:

• pre-recorded CD's with poor quality inlay cards, no artist name on the CD label and no outer cellophane wrapping
• pre-recorded DVD's having no hologram and/or photocopied labels
• perfume with no cellophane seal, poor printing on the bottles and no batch code numbers
• clothing having no branded neck labels, no swing tickets, poor quality printing or embroidery of logos, poor quality of stitching and inconsistency of colours
• computer software with handwritten, or no labels.

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What are the consequences of contravention?

It is the responsibility of the trader to take all reasonable precautions to avoid having counterfeit products for sale on his premises. Contravention may result in prosecution for offences under the Trade Descriptions Act, Trade Marks Act or Copyright, Design and Patents Act. Fines of up to £5,000 can be imposed in a Sheriff Court and/or imprisonment for up to six months. Unlimited fines may be imposed by the Sheriff or High Court, with up to ten years imprisonment for Trade Marks Offences. Forfeiture and destruction of all goods seized will also likely be ordered by the Court.

Under Copyright legislation, a copyright owner may also sue for damages in the civil courts.

If you are offered goods of any description which you suspect may be counterfeit, you may pass any information about the seller to an Officer of the Trading Standards Service, in confidence or anonymously if you wish. Any information will be of use - names, addresses, telephone numbers, vehicle types and registration numbers.

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Relevant legislation

Trade Descriptions Act 1968
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended
Trade Marks Act 1994

This information has been prepared for guidance by Renfrewshire Council's Trading Standards Service. It is not an authoritative document on the law, and is only intended for guidance.

For further help, or to report the sale of counterfeit goods, please contact us in confidence.

How to record a complaint against a trader


Alternatively, you can complete the following form and submit direct to Trading Standards:

• Consumer Complaint Reporting Form (PDF - 604kb)

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Contact us

• email: ts.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• call in or write to us at:
  Renfrewshire Council
  Environmental Services
  Trading Standards
  Renfrewshire House
  Cotton Street
  Paisley
  PA1 1BR
  

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