Recently, China sent a counterfeit golf club distributor and a retailer to jail for 3.5 years and half a year respectively, read more here.
If the case below is representative the sanctions in the US may be comparable to those in China:
Two Chinese nationals, Shao and Fu, were convicted by US District judge Paul Huck in Miami for:
- importing from China counterfeit merchandise, such as Gucci handbags, Rolex watches, Nike baseball caps and other merchandise and selling it to vendors at the Opa-Locka Flea Market and directly to consumers;
- selling fake electrical cords, that were filled with rubber to make them appear thicker and may cause safety hazards;
- authorities seized more than $3 million worth of counterfeit goods at Port Everglades.
Time line:
-december 2005 the two were arrrested;
-februari 10, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods;
-two weeks later they with draw the withdraw their pleas because they said they could not understand the translator.
Sentences:
Lizhou Shao to just over three years in prison;
Li Fen Fu to two and a half years, but because she is pregnant, her sentence will be delayed.
Read Vanessa Blum's article for the Sun-Sentinel here.
What about criminal sanctions in the EU? That's another story, see more about the EU directive on criminal enforcement of IP infringement here.
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