As NY criminal defense lawyers and former Manhattan prosecutors under Robert Morgenthau, the attorneys at Saland Law PC can tell you that the crime of Trademark Counterfeiting had and still has the attention of both the NYPD and prosecutors. In fact, earlier today 21 people where arrested for Trademark Counterfeiting on Manhattan’s Canal Street for selling counterfeit and “knockoff” Louis Vuitton, Coach and Dolce & Gabbana handbags allegedly worth over $125,000.
Despite the fact that people from all walks of life and from all over the United States go down to Canal Street to purchase fake luxury goods from perfumes and watches to handbags and clothing, selling these fraudulent items is a crime (purchasing them, on the other hand is a completely separate matter). Those who sell these counterfeit products may be charged with Trademark Counterfeiting. This crime ranges from an “A” misdemeanor to a “D” felony punishable by up to one year and seven years respectively.
A person is guilty of Trademark Counterfeiting in the Third Degree (the misdemeanor offense) when, with the intent to deceive or defraud some other person or with the intent to evade a lawful restriction on the sale, resale, offering for sale, or distribution of goods, he or she manufactures, distributes, sells, or offers for sale goods which bear a counterfeit trademark, or possesses a trademark knowing it to be counterfeit for the purpose of affixing it to any goods. The second and first degree levels of this crime are enhanced where the value of the goods exceed certain minimums.
In our approximately eighteen years of combined experience as prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys, we have seen how serious the NYPD and prosecutors pursue the offenses related to Trademark Counterfeiting. In fact, NYPD’s Trademark Infringement Unit’s main purpose is to investigate these crimes. Armed with undercover police officers and search warrants, it is not uncommon for this unit to score major arrests.
In the event that you or someone you know has been accused of Trademark Counterfeiting or any related crime, contact Saland Law PC so that you can be guided through the criminal process and make your decisions based on the best availabel defense.