10 things you did not know about Fake HandBags!

1. The police have been known to rely on company representatives to initiate investigations, because they find it difficult to tell genuine items from fakes!
2. Counterfeit bags are not harmless! All fake goods affect the bottom line of the country in which they are sold, particularly when no books are kept or local tax paid. Even more importantly, counterfeiting is often a gateway to other illegal activities. Revenue from counterfeit goods goes into the underground economy, which funds drugs, terrorism and other criminal activities.
3. The global counterfeiting trade is thought to be worth more than $600 billion a year
4. China made 50 percent of the counterfeit goods seized in the EU in the first 11 months of 2005, down from 70 percent in 2004, according to the EU Tax and Customs Commission. Of $138 million in knockoffs confiscated by U.S. Customs in 2004, 63 percent came from China, inspectors said.
5. The number of counterfeit articles confiscated in France continues to grow each year. French brand manufacturers are being backed by Customs & local police forces working together to try and get traders in falsified goods to stop. Holiday-makers will have to take account of tougher controls at the French-Italian border. If any copied Gucci, Dior or Prada item is discovered, it will be confiscated (you lose your bag & the money paid – is it worth it?)
6. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK) is very concerned about the rampant counterfeit goods and copyright piracy in Korea. The EU's intellectual property rights committee (IPR) had criticized Korea for failing to crack down on piracy of luxury brands. Among the EUCCK members are European luxury goods makers such as Gucci, Burberry and Chanel.
7. Counterfeiting of any goods can de-value a brand, rendering it virtually un-saleable ultimately losing jobs
8. c. 8million counterfeit items are brought into Australia annually, costing the Australian fashion industry an estimated billion dollars every year.
9. The penalties awarded to counterfeiters worldwide, are way too low – you may find someone whom has been prosecuted ending up back on the streets hours or days later!
10. In October 2005, Finland’s culture minister was reported in the press as being seen with a FAKE Prada Handbag at a Finnish state visit to Slovenia!

"Every illegal copy and pirate product is stealing. This should be understood and recoqnised in order to set the right atmosphere for the matter in hand."

Blind Justice, 20 October, 2005