Is selling copy/fake/counterfeit/replica goods legal?

Manxman_in_exile

Yes  ^^^^^^^^^^^^.

I have always understood that selling counterfeit/IP infringing copies is (and always has been) a criminal offence.  (And Intellectual Property law was a subject on my LLM 40 years ago - I doubt the criminal law has become more lenient since then).

I personally wouldn't want to knowingly sell anything that might be an infringing item even with a disclaimer that it wasn't genuine - you never know where it's going to end up... or come back to you... however unlikely that may be... 

robatwork

Your question is too vague.

Selling replica goods isn't inherently illegal

Selling counterfeit is.

born_again

prowla said:

Using the case of this Mulberry bag example, the question is almost 1 there, but:

• The bag is designed to look exactly like the genuine article, has the Mulberry disk, Mulberry serial numbers and Mulberry labels, and is of similar quality, but you say it is a replica.
  

https://www.watcheshutuk.com

[quote]
Our goal is to make shopping for Replica Watches as easy as possible. There is no need for you to spend time and energy seeking replica goods when you can find everything you need right here. We offer excellent fashion, selection, and service on one website. Shopping has never been so easy and hassle-free.[/quote]


Been going for years. Seems manufactures are not that bothered. Even though do use manufactures logos etc.

Manxman_in_exile

They ship from their "warehouse in Hong Kong" ...?

Grumpy_chap

Quite often the devil is in the detail.

I once purchased a "DIESEL" belt while on holiday for the princely sum of EURO 1.99.  It was obviously not being passed off as a genuine designer belt, nor was it priced as such.  In fact, if you looked closely, although the typeface and logo was very similar to the "DIESEL" image, the actual logo read "DIESEI." but the "I" followed by the "fullstop" looked rather like the "L" in the proper DIESEL logo - think of it like misplaced numbers on a vanity care registration plate.

The fake and improper actions would be if the logo did not have that variance and the product was being sold at a price that led the purchaser to think it was genuine and they'd found a bargain.

Can be more significant in the case of electrical goods, as the safety requirements may be missed as well as the design infringements.

leonj

The word replica is often used as a euphemism for counterfeit, makes it sound slightly less dodgy

Money_Grabber13579

Grumpy_chap said:

Quite often the devil is in the detail.

I once purchased a "DIESEL" belt while on holiday for the princely sum of EURO 1.99.  It was obviously not being passed off as a genuine designer belt, nor was it priced as such.  In fact, if you looked closely, although the typeface and logo was very similar to the "DIESEL" image, the actual logo read "DIESEI." but the "I" followed by the "fullstop" looked rather like the "L" in the proper DIESEL logo - think of it like misplaced numbers on a vanity care registration plate.

The fake and improper actions would be if the logo did not have that variance and the product was being sold at a price that led the purchaser to think it was genuine and they'd found a bargain.

Can be more significant in the case of electrical goods, as the safety requirements may be missed as well as the design infringements.

So you’re saying that it’s quite okay for Aldi to sell a cake that looks like Colin the Caterpillar, because they’ve called it Cuthbert rather than Colin? M&S would disagree with you and the fact that they are going to court proves that it is a lot more complicated than you have implied.

pbartlett

It's quite simple really - Aldi can't sell a cake called Colin that looks identical to the M&S version.

What they can do is sell a cake called Cuthbert that looks somewhat like Colin but is not identical.

M&S feel that it looks a bit too much like Colin so Aldi will probably have to change it slightly.

That's the difference between a counterfeit (illegal) and knock-off (legal).

prowla

robatwork said:

Your question is too vague.

Selling replica goods isn't inherently illegal

Selling counterfeit is.

Thanks - is there a legal definition of counterfeit goods in the UK?

pbartlett said:

It's quite simple really - Aldi can't sell a cake called Colin that looks identical to the M&S version.

What they can do is sell a cake called Cuthbert that looks somewhat like Colin but is not identical.

M&S feel that it looks a bit too much like Colin so Aldi will probably have to change it slightly.

That's the difference between a counterfeit (illegal) and knock-off (legal).

Thanks - do you know what specific law says that (eg.) "Aldi can't sell a cake called Colin that looks identical to the M&S version.", if: (a) they have a note next to it saying it is a copy and not genuine, and (b) M&S haven't yet noticed and objected?

user1977

It would probably help if you told us what you're planning to do, as I'm guessing you're not actually running a supermarket selling caterpillar cakes? There are various different laws in play here.