Counterfeit Merchandise Seized During Sweep

LONDON, ON, Aug. 26 /CNW/ - The London Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Federal Enforcement Section (FES), has been conducting a sweep for counterfeit merchandise over the past several weeks. The sweep was conducted throughout various communities located in Oxford, Lambton, Elgin and Middlesex counties. As a result, a number of Counterfeit Product Notices have been served and hundreds of counterfeit merchandise items have been voluntarily turned over to the RCMP for destruction. The value of the counterfeit merchandise items is estimated to be over $20,000.

Counterfeit Product Notices are a warning. It allows officers to educate merchants in regards to offences associated to selling counterfeit products and remove the illegal items. Several of the retailers involved in the sweep were not aware that it is an offence associated with the selling and distributing of merchandise bearing unlicensed or unregistered trademarks without the permission of the trademark owner.

Items turned over during the sweep included sunglasses, purses, ball caps, sweatshirts, t-shirts and flat irons bearing various unlicensed commercial logos such as Oakley, Ed Hardy, Coach, Louis Vuitton, UFC, Hurley, Chanel, Baby Phat, Chi and various other name brands. A number of pirated DVD's movies were also located during the sweep.

Individuals involved in these types of activity could face charges of fraud under the Criminal Code or charges under the Copyright Act for offering for sale an infringing copy of work where copyright subsists. If convicted, individuals could face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years under the Criminal Code or fines up to twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months (or both) under the Copyright Act.

Counterfeit goods - whether smuggled into the country or produced in Canada - represent a financial loss to legitimate businesses, governments and taxpayers. As these goods are often cheaply made and not up to Canadian standards, they not only defraud consumers, but may also represent a safety risks to consumer/user.

The RCMP is committed to raising public awareness on the effects of counterfeit products.

Anyone with information regarding the sale and /or manufacturing of counterfeit merchandise is asked to contact the RCMP at 1-800-387-0020 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-265-4444.

Pictures of these seizures are available upon request or on the RCMP web site at;
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/on/news-nouvelles/index-eng.htm

For further information:

Cpl. Darren Morgan
Media Relation Officer
London Detachment
RCMP "O" Division      
Office: [phone] ext. 248   
Cell: [phone]