In a bizarre story from Scotland, a 32-year-old woman with a compulsive shopping habit led to her pleading guilty to trademark violations after she stockpiled counterfeit designer goods in her Scotland home, reports the Scottish media:
found gifts branded with the names of top fashion houses like Cartier, DKNY and Burberry and fake handbags by Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Chloe. Officers also found watches and jewellery which were copies of Cartier, DKNY, Links and Juicy Couture ranges.
Lisa McCloy, prosecuting, said around £15,000 worth of counterfeit goods had been seized as well as £4000 cash, which police found in a bedroom drawer.
Ms McCloy said: The accused was taken to the police station and she confirmed that her income was restricted to disability allowance. Some products were confirmed as genuine and these were returned to the accused.
Alan Jackson, defending, said Haddow was a first offender who had accepted her responsibility from the start.
He said: The genuine items returned to her were very numerous. There were lots of T-shirts and 200 tops, many exactly the same. There was an element of obsessiveness in her behaviour.
Where ordinary people would by three suits, she would buy 15. She tells me she had goods lying all over the house and wardrobes bulging with clothes.
This could not happen in the United States because under current law, it is not illegal to possess fake designer goods only to sell them. But more luxury brands are pursuing tougher penalties for those who enable counterfeit traffickers to run a multibillion-dollar industry, and who can argue the people who buy the stuff dont bear some responsibility for its success?
Moral of the story? Never buy fake its hardly worth it.
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