Bought a counterfeit?
What you can do
How to deal with high compensation claims?
Customs has detained your parcel – what now?
Customs has detained my parcel containing counterfeits.
You have two options:
Customs regularly checks suspicious parcels that are being imported. If they suspect that a parcel contains counterfeits, they may detain it. In this case, you’ll receive a letter from the IPI (Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property), which is responsible for conducting the procedure. Video.
1. You give up the goods, the goods are destroyed and the case is closed for you from an administrative point of view.
If you’re not 100 per cent sure that the product is genuine, it’s best to forgo the goods. Otherwise, you could face significant inconvenience and high costs.
2. You’re certain that the product delivered is genuine – not counterfeit. In this case, you can object to the destruction of the goods. The rights holder will be informed immediately and may take legal action against you. Usually, the rights holder will hand the case over to a lawyer, who’ll then bring claims for compensation against you. If the trade mark owner can prove in court that the product is counterfeit, they can easily claim thousands of Swiss francs – and you might even have to bear the costs of the proceedings.
I've received a letter from a lawyer claiming compensation
Importing counterfeits for private use is not a punishable criminal offence in itself. The law only provides for a penalty if the goods are imported for commercial purposes.
Nonetheless, the rights holder (trade mark owner) can claim compensation for the loss or damage they have suffered due to the import of a counterfeit item because it’s still unlawful. This kind of claim generally comes from a lawyer.
What does the law say?
- Swiss law follows the principle that compensation may only be paid for loss or damage that has actually occurred.
- The actual cost payable by the rights holder for an intervention by customs in each individual case is at least CHF 120 per notification, including the destruction of the goods and the delivery of photos (IPI Fee Ordinance.)
- Some rights holders claim legal fees as loss or damage. These costs will be minimal if the recipient of the parcel immediately agrees to the rapid destruction of the goods without any objections.
- Not all claims for compensation by rights holders are well founded, and sometimes the claims aren’t justifiable. You don’t have to accept excessively high or unjustified claims.
If you have the impression that a claim is excessive, you should ask for proof of the loss or damage that was actually incurred
You have been deceived? Defend yourself and report the incident
Whether you’re shopping in a physical store, in the street or online, what looks genuine at first glance is not always what it seems. If you’ve been deceived by a counterfeit product, you can defend yourself. (A lawyer can provide assistance.)
Tell the seller that you want to return the goods for a refund of the purchase price. However, if you ordered the counterfeit from abroad, don’t send it back under any circumstances, because it’s prohibited to export counterfeit goods. Selling the goods on in Switzerland is not an option either. That would make you liable to prosecution.
Report the incident.
Report the incident in as much detail as you can and include all evidence to one of the hotlines below. In doing so, you are making an important contribution to the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.
Websites with fake goods
Report websites with fake goods or fake online shopsending in.ch directly to the cybercrime police.
Websites selling counterfeits or fake online shops with any other domain extensions can only be blocked by the rights holder. You can find these at www.swissreg.ch.
Online Marketplaces
Sales platforms like eBay provide buyer protection programmes, which can help if necessary. If you paid with a credit card, notify the credit card issuer and dispute the bill within the stated time limits. If you have bought a counterfeit from an online marketplace, contact their customer service immediately and report the incident giving the seller’s name and the product bought. These online platforms work together with affected original manufacturers and can give you the contact addresses of the rights owners.
The police
It’s possible to file a complaint against the seller at any police station or with the regional public prosecutor’s office. If the offender is acting commercially, authorities are required by law to investigate the case. Regardless of the likelihood of successful prosecution, it’s still important that officials are notified of such incidents.
Affected rights holders (trade marke owners)
Watches:
info@fhs.ch or
antipiracy@safe.ch
Music:
suisa@suisa.ch and info@ifpi.ch
Brand name products in the consumer goods sector:
info@promarca.ch
Medicines:
Stop Piracy Secretariat
Tell us about your experiences (info@stop-piracy.ch). If you have an interesting case, we’ll publish it with your permission to help to warn other consumers.
Schweizerisches Konsumentenforum (in German)
The e-commerce ombudsman’s office is responsible for complaints concerning online purchases for which no amicable settlement between the parties affected has been able to be found.
Do have any other questions about counterfeiting and piracy
contact us