Holidaymakers warned against buying fake goods abroad
24 August 2009
Visiting a local market on the Continent and picking up a "Louis Vuitton" handbag or bling sunglasses for a few euros may strike holidaymakers as a harmless pursuit, but it could land them in hot water at the end of their stay.
French and Italian governments have recently introduced harsher penalties for those found buying and selling counterfeit goods.
In France, those caught buying fake items such as handbags, watches, designer gear, sports wear and sunglasses are subject to fines of up to €300,000 (about £260,000) or a prison sentence of three years.
Nicholas Phillips, a copyright solicitor, told the BBC website that “The most likely thing to happen to British tourists if they walk through customs with a counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag is customs officers will tap them on the shoulder and take it away from them.
“They will also potentially fine them twice the value of the original bag, not the fake.
“That may run to several thousand euros - imagine twice that.”
Across Europe, seizures of fake goods more than doubled last year. Customs authorities seized almost 180 million counterfeit items, most of which were imported from China.