South Moravian customs officials track down illicit markets in the fashion industry. Photo Credit: CELNÍ SPRÁVY.
Czech Republic, 7 Sept. (BD) – As the sale of counterfeit goods in the notorious marketplaces of South Moravia has declined, a large part of the market for ‘fake-brand’ goods has moved to the virtual digital environment of e-commerce. The Customs Department in Brno recorded an increase in reports of shipments detained due to items ordered online that violated intellectual property rights. In 2020, there were 193 such cases; the selling price of the original products would have reached CZK 5 million.
Last year, however, South Moravian customs officers registered a new trend, namely the import of counterfeit goods by truck, mainly from Turkey. In some cases, counterfeits of world-famous brands were transported as ordinary goods. The counterfeit shipments were often clocks, but most consisted of clothing.
Part of this new trend was the import of textiles for the production of garments with the typical ‘plaid’ pattern of one of the famous brands in mid-December. In the customs declaration, the goods were declared as textiles with a value of approximately CZK 2 million. However, following a thorough check and subsequent verification, customs officials discovered that 21,793 garments and textiles infringed intellectual property rights, and that the sales value of the originals would have exceeded CZK 44 million.
Last year, South Moravian Customs handled 44 such cases, and the value of the counterfeit goods was estimated at almost CZK 100 million in customs procedures.
