The London Ontario Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Federal Enforcement Section (FES) announced that it has been conducting a sweep for counterfeit merchandise over the past several weeks.

According to the statement, the sweep was conducted throughout various communities located in Oxford, Lambton, Elgin and Middlesex counties. As a result, a number of Counterfeit Product Notices have been served and hundreds of counterfeit merchandise items have been voluntarily turned over to the RCMP for destruction. The value of the counterfeit merchandise items is estimated to be over $20,000.

Items turned over during the sweep included sunglasses, purses, ball caps, sweatshirts, t-shirts and flat irons bearing various unlicensed commercial logos such as Oakley, Ed Hardy, Coach, Louis Vuitton, UFC, Hurley, Chanel, Baby Phat, Chi and various other name brands. A number of pirated DVD movies were also located during the sweep.

The statement goes on to say that Counterfeit Product Notices are a warning. It allows officers to educate merchants in regards to offences associated to selling counterfeit products and remove the illegal items. Several of the retailers involved in the sweep were not aware that it is an offence associated with the selling and distributing of merchandise bearing unlicensed or unregistered trademarks without the permission of the trademark owner.

Individuals involved in these types of activity could face charges of fraud under the Criminal Code or charges under the Copyright Act for offering for sale an infringing copy of work where copyright subsists. If convicted, individuals could face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years under the Criminal Code or fines up to twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months (or both) under the Copyright Act.

Counterfeit goods represent a financial loss to legitimate businesses, governments and taxpayers. As these goods are often cheaply made and not up to Canadian standards, they not only defraud consumers, but may also present safety risks.

For more information visit: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca