Recently, the Shanghai Putuo Primary People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the "Putuo Court") concluded a case involving the sale of counterfeit goods on an e-commerce platform.

In 2019, a company (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") launched an app-based e-commerce platform (hereinafter referred to as "the Platform"). Facing high costs and low profits from genuine products, the Company's actual controller, Mr. Gou, and others sought suppliers of counterfeit goods by posting recruitment ads. They attracted merchants to join the Platform and sell counterfeit products from internationally renowned brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, participating in the entire process of pricing, listing, promoting, and selling these fakes. Judicial appraisal revealed that the sales value of the counterfeit trademarked goods exceeded RMB 10.8 million. In June 2023, the five individuals involved were apprehended by public security authorities and confessed to the Company's knowledge and involvement in selling counterfeit goods.

The Putuo District People's Court ruled that the Company knowingly sold goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks, with sales exceeding RMB 10.8 million, which constituted "other particularly serious circumstances". Defendants, including Mr. Gou, were found guilty of the crime of selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks.

Considering the defendants' confessions, acceptance of punishment, and their respective roles in the joint crime, the court convicted the Company of the crime of selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks and imposed a fine of RMB 3 million. Mr. Gou and the other four individual defendants were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from four years and six months to one year and eleven months, along with fines. The judgment in this case has now taken effect. Counterfeit shops operating on the Platform are being prosecuted in separate cases.

Source:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-ES407CPTYQ1nEqIkc3n1g?scene=25#wechat_redirect (Chinese)