Patent Office Trademark Police Investigation Results
Approximately 6.2 Billion KRW Worth Sold as Parallel Imports
A group involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit Starbucks tumblers domestically has been caught.
The Korea Intellectual Property Office's Special Judicial Police for Trademarks (hereinafter Trademark Police) announced on the 15th that they have booked nine people, including Mr. A (53, ringleader), without detention on charges of violating the Trademark Act. According to the Trademark Police, Mr. A and others are suspected of manufacturing and distributing over 130,000 counterfeit Starbucks tumblers (with a genuine market value of 6.2 billion KRW) domestically from 2021 to last year.
Counterfeit Starbucks tumblers are displayed in a storage warehouse. Photo by the Korean Intellectual Property Office
Mr. A and others were traced after tumbler components they attempted to import for making counterfeit products were detected at customs. The Trademark Police launched an investigation, judging that Mr. A and his group imported components and then manufactured and distributed counterfeit products domestically.
The investigation revealed that Mr. A divided roles with Mr. B (46, distribution manager), Mr. C (65, finance manager), and Mr. D (62, manufacturing manager) to manufacture and distribute counterfeit products. In particular, to evade crackdowns, they imported tumbler parts separately and then assembled and reprocessed them domestically to create counterfeit tumblers.
First, they imported plain tumbler bodies without trademarks from overseas and illegally printed the Starbucks logo to produce counterfeit tumblers. Additionally, components such as tumbler lids, rubber pads, and stickers were custom-ordered and imported separately from overseas, while packaging boxes and instruction manual inserts were produced domestically, assembling all necessary parts to complete the counterfeit tumblers.
The counterfeit finished products were disguised as parallel imported goods and sold online and offline at prices less than 50% of genuine products. These products were mainly supplied as souvenirs and promotional items to government offices, companies, and private organizations.
It was also confirmed that Mr. A and others shared information about enforcement results from investigative agencies such as the Korea Intellectual Property Office, police, and customs, as well as sanctions information from online platforms, conspiring to evade investigations and minimize charges. In fact, Mr. A attempted to disguise the counterfeit tumblers as parallel imported products by submitting false certificates based on past crackdown cases, but the entire method was uncovered through digital forensic analysis, according to the Trademark Police.
Jung In-sik, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at the Korea Intellectual Property Office, said, “Methods of infringing intellectual property rights such as trademarks continue to evolve,” adding, “The Korea Intellectual Property Office will strengthen cooperation with related agencies such as the police and customs and enhance enforcement capabilities by utilizing the latest investigative techniques to effectively respond to new types of intellectual property crimes.”
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