Categories of criminal offences related to the manufacture and trade of counterfeit goods: Manufacturing and trading in counterfeit goods; Manufacturing and trading in counterfeit foods, foodstuffs or food additives; Manufacturing and trading in counterfeit medicines for treatment or prevention of diseases; Manufacturing and trading in counterfeit animal feed, fertilizers, veterinary medicines, pesticides, plant varieties, and animal breeds

Enterprises often spend a significant amount of money to build up their image and brand in the hearts of consumers. A brand is a valuable and meaningful asset of any enterprise. In fact, many mergers and acquisitions of enterprises worth up to billions of dollars are valued primarily based on the brand value of the enterprises. Recently however, there has been an increase in the manufacture of counterfeit, poor-quality goods that imitate reputable brands on the market.  These offenders profit from consumers by deceiving them or taking advantage of their affinity for low-cost branded goods.

Pursuant to provisions of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, all criminal offences regarding the manufacture and trade in counterfeit goods constitute dual crimes. In particular, each article stipulates two distinct offences, with each offence having its own set of criminal acts as follows:

The act of manufacturing counterfeit goods is defined as the performance of one, several, or all of the activities of making, prepressing, printing, machining, ordering, preliminary processing, processing, extracting, recycling, assembling, mixing, portioning, transferring, loading, packing and other activities related to the manufacture of counterfeit goods.

The act of trading in counterfeit goods is defined as the performance of one, several, or all of the activities of offering, displaying, storing, preserving, transporting, wholesaling, retailing, exporting, importing, and other activities aiming to bring counterfeit goods into circulation on the market.

Although the law clearly provides legal basis for identifying the acts of manufacturing and trading in counterfeit goods, as well as the legal consequences that offenders must bear, not all enterprises are skilled at detecting and gathering enough evidence to denounce and protect their brands against these infringements.

With many years of expertise in counseling businesses and solving criminal cases involving enterprises, Le & Tran is aware of and evaluates the risks that enterprises may face as a result of the manufacture and trade in counterfeit goods. We are confident in our professional knowledge and ability to successfully provide legal advice and solutions to support enterprises in preventing the manufacture and trade of counterfeit goods that harm an enterprises’ reputation, image, and brand. With a creative and effective work ethic, our team of lawyers is dedicated to delivering our clients superior service, which aims to protect the quality of goods and ensure healthy competition in the market.