As a tourist in Italy the street vendors stand out peddling their knock off products with names such as Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. These products are blatant forms of copyright infringement but nothing stopped consumers from trying to save some money on a designer purse or sunglasses. Now that 20 euro purse may just end up costing you 10,000 euros in fines.
The counterfeit sale industry costs businesses about 300 billion euro in lost sales. To help curb these losses, Italian officials are trying to fight the crime. In a six month span, Italian customs officials confiscated 1.9 million pieces of counterfeit products. Not only are they trying to stop it at the source, tourists and buyers can see pernalties for fueling these illegal businesses.
Since 2001, 80,000 jobs have been lost at majorcompanies due to illegally pirated sales. Purchasing knock-off products hurts the authentic industries as well is a crime, as some tourists have discovered. According to an Italian consumer website, a Florence resident was fined 3,300 for purchasing a pair of sunglasses for 11 euros. These illegal items may seem like good bargains, but after having to pay a 3,000 euro fine it might have been better to purchase the real thing. On top of receiving an outrageous fine, you will be stuck carrying around a bag with fake leather and a cheap broken zipper.
Freeman, Alan L. & Forden, Sara Gay. In Italy buying a fake handbag isn't a joke- it's a crime." 1/14/06. International Herald Tribune. 5/27/08.
The counterfeit sale industry costs businesses about 300 billion euro in lost sales. To help curb these losses, Italian officials are trying to fight the crime. In a six month span, Italian customs officials confiscated 1.9 million pieces of counterfeit products. Not only are they trying to stop it at the source, tourists and buyers can see pernalties for fueling these illegal businesses.
Since 2001, 80,000 jobs have been lost at majorcompanies due to illegally pirated sales. Purchasing knock-off products hurts the authentic industries as well is a crime, as some tourists have discovered. According to an Italian consumer website, a Florence resident was fined 3,300 for purchasing a pair of sunglasses for 11 euros. These illegal items may seem like good bargains, but after having to pay a 3,000 euro fine it might have been better to purchase the real thing. On top of receiving an outrageous fine, you will be stuck carrying around a bag with fake leather and a cheap broken zipper.
Freeman, Alan L. & Forden, Sara Gay. In Italy buying a fake handbag isn't a joke- it's a crime." 1/14/06. International Herald Tribune. 5/27/08.
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