![]() They also receive tip-offs from other law enforcement organisations around the country, as well as the companies behind the brands being impersonated. Pipcu has a computer system set up to flag up suspicious sites. ![]() And it is a criminal offence to try to gain financially by using a trademark without the owner's permission. It is illegal to sell counterfeit goods in the UK. Some parts of the UK, such as Strangeways in inner north Manchester, still have shops that are known to sell fakes, according to DI Ives.īut the bulk of counterfeit goods are now sold online, with fraudsters setting up new websites all the time to sell anything from imitation hairdryers to pet accessories. In the past, shoppers would largely stumble across counterfeit goods in markets or while on holiday abroad. 'But they are then taken to a warehouse and printed, say, with a big Nike swoosh, and that is when they become imitation goods.' However, it can be hard to catch all items because they may not be counterfeits when they arrive in the country.ĭI Ives says: 'A container of plain white T-shirts arriving from China is unlikely to rouse suspicion. They are then shipped in bulk to the UK and taken to warehouses before being distributed.Īround 20 million illegal products have been seized by local trading standards as they entered the UK in the past 12 months.
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