Footwear counterfeiters imprisoned in China

Eighteen counterfeiters are now in Chinese prisons for supplying fake Crocs shoes.

The Crocs leisure footwear brand has announced the results of court action it took against infringements of its intellectual copyright in China. Chinese courts have sentenced 18 individuals to prison sentences totalling more than 46 years for producing and selling counterfeit goods that imitated Crocs products. Seventeen of these individuals were convicted of counterfeiting, two of these also being convicted of offering bribes.

In addition to their prison sentences, those involved face fines of $450,000. Nearly 129,000 pairs of counterfeit Crocs shoes – valued at more than $9.5 million – were seized by investigators.

“The lengthy prison terms and heavy fines handed down in these cases show that Chinese authorities are very serious about assisting us in eradicating counterfeit Crocs products in China, and so are we,” said Dan Hart, Crocs’ chief legal and administrative officer. “We will not tolerate counterfeiters compromising our brand, and will continue to work with the authorities to hunt down and prosecute anyone who uses Crocs’ name, design or other intellectual property without permission.”

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 4 of the February 2013 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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