What is the definition of counterfeiting? How is it understood legally?

The International Trade Association defines counterfeiting as: the unauthorized use of another party's registered trademark on goods that are the same or similar to the original trademarked products.

In everyday life, people frequently buy and sell various items, whether expensive luxury goods or affordable daily necessities (such as food, clothing, housing, entertainment, etc.). One of the biggest concerns is whether these goods might be fake, pirated, or counterfeit. These counterfeit products may look similar, but the materials used could be problematic. Unscrupulous manufacturers may create counterfeit products with low-cost materials and sell them at much cheaper prices than the real ones. Items such as clothing, shoes, watches, leather goods, jewelry, and medicine may be counterfeited, and these products often have uncertain sources of materials and manufacturing processes. Consumers who purchase them may not be able to find the manufacturer responsible if issues arise. In the case of pharmaceuticals or processed foods, counterfeits pose even greater health risks. Furthermore, reselling counterfeit goods is illegal. Apart from technical and aesthetic theft, counterfeiting also rides on the coattails of others, which is unjust to the original creators and development teams. Consumers should always be cautious when making purchases.

In addition to tangible goods, intangible knowledge, literature, creativity, and designs are also susceptible to being counterfeited or plagiarized. These fall under intellectual property rights, and rather than counterfeiting, it is more accurate to call them acts of plagiarism.

Legal Overview of Counterfeit Products: Learn Which Laws Selling Counterfeit Goods May Violate

Selling counterfeit goods may lead to not only civil liabilities but also criminal responsibilities.

Civilly, it involves infringing on trademark rights. According to Article 69 of the Trademark Act (Exclusion and Compensation for Damages for Infringement): Trademark owners may request the removal of infringements and the prevention of potential infringements. Article 70 of the Trademark Act states that without the trademark owner's consent, it is considered an infringement. Three situations are specified:

• Using a similar or identical trademark knowingly to another's registered trademark (e.g., using a reversed version of Nike's swoosh).
• Using someone else's registered trademark intentionally as the name of your own company or brand (e.g., naming a fast food restaurant "Mai Dang Dang" instead of McDonald's).
• Manufacturing, holding, displaying, selling, or importing labels, tags, packaging, or containers not yet associated with a product or service, knowing that they may infringe on a trademark (e.g., packaging claiming to be a licensed collaboration with a cartoon without proper authorization).

Any of these actions can confuse consumers and are thus considered infringements of trademark rights.

The Trademark Act also includes penalties, with Articles 95, 96, and 97 specifically detailing the consequences. The penalties under the Trademark Act are actionable, meaning that even if an agreement is reached with the original company, legal proceedings are required, leaving a criminal record. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses and manufacturers to ensure that their products are genuine and not to take shortcuts.

What does a Counterfeit Investigation do?

When trademarks, patents, intellectual property, inventions, or company products are counterfeited or infringed upon, leading to damage to reputation, business opportunities, assets, and other interests, our company assists clients in gathering evidence to protect their rights.