The hot-selling new clothing is "synchronously listed" on the third-party online shopping platform, and the price is only two percent off the original price or even lower. The police investigation found that some unscrupulous merchants used the "no reason to return" zero-cost plagiarism of peer samples for counterfeiting.
Screenshot of the online store that sells counterfeits. The picture in this article is provided by Shanghai Changning Police
"Our company has not been established for a long time, and I didn't expect to be counterfeited as soon as we have a certain reputation." In June 2024, the person in charge of a women's clothing brand in Changning District, Shanghai, told the police about the company's recent troubles. It is reported that the company was established in 2022 and has gradually gained recognition in the market due to its novel design, and counterfeit products have also followed.
Screenshot of the online store that sells counterfeits
Due to the short time of establishment, the company lacks relevant experience in rights protection, and several complaints about "Li Ghost Merchants" through online shopping platforms are not satisfactory, even if it is closed, new stores will appear one after another, and the company is helpless about it. Recently, the infringement situation has become more and more serious, and the new autumn models that have just been put on the shelves also have counterfeit products, and the price is only less than two discounts of the original products, which greatly affects the normal development and operation of the company.
Authentic clothing
Authentic clothing
After learning about this situation, the police confirmed that there was a large criminal suspicion of counterfeiting and infringement through the samples provided by the company, so they suggested that the company report the case to protect its rights and interests, and filed a case for investigation that month.
During the investigation, the police found that there were many records of "no reason to return" in the transaction flow of the company's official online store, and the clothing purchased was highly consistent with the counterfeit and infringing style. Based on this, the police judged that the criminals used the "return policy" of the online shopping platform to obtain copy samples at "zero cost", and used them to sell counterfeit goods for illegal profits. After grasping the conclusive evidence of the crime, the police successfully locked down the two criminal gangs that used this method, and immediately organized the police to go to other provinces and cities to arrest a total of 4 people from the two criminal gangs, including Li, Shao and Duan, and seized more than 500 infringing trademarks, more than 200 counterfeit clothing, more than 900 infringing trademarks, and more than 700 counterfeit clothing.
Counterfeit clothing
Counterfeit clothing
After the four suspects arrived at the case, they all confessed to their crimes. According to the explanation, they will first select the top-selling clothing through the company's online shopping platform to place an order for purchase, and use this as a model to be handed over to the garment workshop to mass-produce "plain clothes" without logos, and the purchased authentic clothing will be returned after the imitation is completed. Subsequently, Li and others will label themselves and sell them in the online store after receiving the "plain clothes", because all the clothes have no design cost, so they can be sold at a price that is less than two discounts compared to the original products. As of the time of the case, the two gangs had made a profit of more than 30 yuan each.
The police arrested the scene
The police arrested the scene
At present, four criminal suspects, including Li, Shao and Duan, have been taken criminal compulsory measures by the Shanghai Changning police in accordance with the law on suspicion of counterfeiting registered trademarks, and the case is being further investigated.
Source: The Paper