Crackdown on counterfeit goods
Somebody is trying to sell fake geometry sets. Ten years ago the market was flooded with counterfeit Reebok sneakers
The day of reckoning seems to have come for local companies that sell counterfeit and substandard goods on the Trinidad and Tobago market.
A recent advertisement in a daily newspaper announced that under Trinidad and Tobago law, a British firm is the holder of two trademarks for a popular brand of mathematical instruments.
The company noted that there have been recent incidents in which “counterfeit sets of mathematical instruments” were being sold in Trinidad and Tobago. Popularly known as “geometry sets,” the mathematical instruments sell well from May to July every year as hundreds of primary and secondary school students prepare for examinations.
The ad warned that the sale of these counterfeit items was an infringement of trademarks held by the British-based firm. It further warned that the company would not hesitate to prosecute any local person or organisation found importing, selling, or distributing counterfiet versions of their products.
The British company published the name of the only local company authorised to distrubute their products. They also made it clear that the ad was no idle threat to simply deter errant Trinidadian companies that make a killing by palming off substandard versions of their products on the local market: The company further revealed that they have “successfully obtained an injunction against an importer” selling counterfeit mathematical sets. “Any fraudulent imitation, fraudulent use, or other infringement of the said trademarks will be dealt with according to law,” the sternly-worded ad said.
The move by the British firm is in keeping with a global trend in which hundreds of firms that are the legitimate manufacturers of popular brands, are now cracking down on the shady organisations that turn out cheaply-made versions of the popular products and sell them at a fraction of the cost of the original item. Importers and distributors of fake items are also being sought and prosecuted.
The worst of the lot are those who sell the counterfeit items at the same high prices as the genuine item. Their main victims are the citizens of the more prosperous Third World countries, where consumers have high disposable incomes, and are not likely to recognise a fake: Yes, countries like Trinidad and Tobago.
A source at this country’s Customs and Excise division confirmed that the division has been taking action against persons who import and sell counterfeit goods. The division has been doing this with the assistance of their counterparts in other countries as well as international companies affected by the actions of counterfeiters and those who distribute and sell the fake items.
Tntinsider also learned that a well known distributor of top brand name goods in Trinidad and Tobago is being carefully watched by the authorities, and action will be taken against them soon.
A decade ago a former Government minister was questioned in the importation of fake sneakers with the Reebok brand name.