Syndicates attach fake brands on clothing after import, says ministry

 

Authorities say consumers going for branded products despite knowing they are fake are destroying the institution that created the brand.

KUALA LUMPUR: The entry of counterfeit goods from abroad without any brand attached is making it difficult for the authorities to fully crack down on the sale of such items.

Director of the Kuala Lumpur branch of the domestic trade and cost of living ministry Ariffin Samsudin said it was hard to confiscate the goods at the entry point as the government does not prohibit the import of clothing or textiles from abroad as long as they do not violate any rule such as the incorrect use of trademarks.

“For example, most of the fake clothing from Bangladesh is without any brand. Only after they have passed the authorities’ inspection either at the port or airport will the syndicate attach fake brands with the labels printed in the country.

“It is not an offence to bring them in because no company brand is affixed to the items. What is patented and registered at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia is the brand only,” he told Bernama.

Ariffin said the ministry also faced difficulties in fighting against counterfeits because in some cases, it did not get full cooperation from representatives of the trademark owner when raiding a location.

He said it was important for the trademark representatives to be present during a raid because who can verify that the products are fake.

“For example, during a recent raid on Jalan Petaling involving more than 30 trademarks, some of the representatives were not present, so we could not seize the goods even they were counterfeit,” he said.

Educating the public to respect trademarks

According to Ariffin, the biggest challenge is educating the public to respect trademarks, and discouraging them to refrain from buying fake goods just because they want to be “fashionable”.

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“During the festive season, there is a high demand for fake goods across the country, and importers will take the opportunity to restock their goods for distribution, including for online sales,” he said.

He also said there are three hotspot locations for the storage and sale of counterfeit goods in Kuala Lumpur – Jalan Petaling, Jalan Chow Kit and Jalan Kenanga.

“We are making efforts to combat this activity but, ultimately, consumers need to be aware that they should not buy counterfeit goods, even if they are cheap,” he said. - FMT