RetailBX.sg - What's the Singapore Law on Selling Branded Goods Online?

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxo (Post 13213)

Can someone enlighten me on above topic? I know selling fake branded goods like LV, Prada, etc, whether online or anywhere is against the law but I still see many people selling....

Questions:

1. What is the penalty if caught for selling fake branded goods?

2. Seller of fake goods are of course guilty, what about the buyers?

3. Does the same law applies to non-branded goods but are trademark/patent registered?

4. If the branded goods on sale is NOT fake, and sellers can prove that it is out of their own collection which they are parting for various reasons, presumably this is NOT against the law?

5. If the branded goods on sale is NOT fake, and sellers import them for purpose of making a profit, is this against the law?

:confused2:

1.
The sale of counterfeit products of trademarked goods ("branded" or not) is illegal in Singapore. Counterfeiting a trademark is a criminal offence punishable by a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. Trying to pass off your own products or services as another registered trademark is also an offence.

You can google for the Trade Marks Act of Singapore. Furthermore, the owner of the trademark can sue you for compensation for the loss of income due to your counterfeit products and may be compelled by the court to turn over all profits to the trademark owner.

2.
The trademark act only covers "trade or manufacture", "sale" or "expose for sale" for even one single product. However, it does not penalise any persons from purchasing any form of "fake" products for personal use. Therefore buyers are not guilty until they try to sell of the item as second-hand or "pre-loved".

3.
As per in Q1's answer, yes. So long its trademarked, its popularity plays no role in deciding if you have infringed the Trademark Act. Example: If I was to register a clothes brand "So-Lousy" tomorrow and a week later that you decided to manufacturing or selling products that are similar to what I have trademarked, I could attempt to stop you from your sale or sue you. While I probably can't demand as high a compensation from you if you had been sued by other big brands, you would be liable for the criminal offence and thus both the fine and jail term.

4.
Most goods are for "End-user" which means that the seller (or brand-owner) assumes that the sale has been made for your personal use and not meant to be transferred to other users. However, I don't think its illegal to sell away our unwanted items unless done habitually for a profit. Consult a IP lawyer if you really want to know.

5.
In Singapore, there is no real law that protect brand owners from the sale of parallel imported goods. One famous example would be BMW cars. Many of them are parallel imported and thus much cheaper. However, there is a very tricky question. How do you prove that the goods on your hand is authentic?

Even if the product on hand is extremely similar, it could be a very good imitation good. It would be the onus of the seller (or infringer) to proof the authenticity of the goods or to be prosecuted for the marketing and sale of fake goods.

Besides that even if you are able to proof their your products are authentic, (e.g. a certificate from their overseas headquarters etc) the lengthy court orders and sessions consumes not just your precious time but will bring about hefty legal fees. This is a tactic just by some MNCs to bring down smaller businesses that could possibly affect their annual revenue reports.

I hope that these answers are sufficient for your due consideration. :D