Experience of an automotive components brand in combating counterfeit in Russia

One of the partners of an automotive components brand encountered an obvious defect. The audit began with a test purchase, and unfortunately for counterfeiters, the partner specialises in information and legal services. The fraudsters thought they acted slyly. They made fake desiccants, but they screwed the original cartridge onto them. That is, the consumer had no doubts, if only there was more than one subtlety: the method of applying the logo to the casting. It is on these nuances that manufacturers of fakes usually stumble, along with knowing little about the policies that manufacturing firms are pursuing. So, for consumer protection in 2015, the rights holder registered a trademark at the customs of the Russian Federation. And since then, no one, with the exception of a number of authorized companies, can import products into the territory of the Russian Federation. To help customers easily identify original spare parts, the manufacturer has developed new special packaging. Thanks to a distinctive authenticity code and the possibility of using a simple online tool to check a unique serial number, the consumer can always be sure that they are using an original product. At the same time, with a new line of budget parts, alternative options specially designed for used vehicles were offered. These measures made it possible in September 2018 to identify a large batch of counterfeit air dryer cartridges in the Volga Federal District. Together with the police, a trading facility in Nizhny Novgorod was inspected the following November. The haul was substantial: one and a half hundred filters, taps and dryer kits, 33 repair kits in cardboard boxes and plastic bags, ABS system modulators. All products were marked with the rights holder's trademarks. The total prevented damage amounted to almost 2 million rubles. On February 27, 2019, lawyers of Vlasta-Consulting, on behalf of the rights holder, supported the police's demands to bring the violators to justice. Proceedings on the illegal use of means of individualization of goods ended on March 4, 2019. The trading organisation was held administratively liable under Part 2 of Art. 14.10. The penalty was a fine of 100,000 rubles and confiscation of all counterfeit products.