Counterfeit Goods Private Prosecution - Case Dropped

Case study summary

Our client was a professional man investigated for selling counterfeit replica items of the high-value international jewellery brand Pandora. Our expert counterfeit goods lawyers negotiated with the private prosecution lawyers, and were able to get the investigation dropped.

Case study

Our client was a professional in the marketing sector. He had no previous convictions, and was accused of breaching Trademark law and selling counterfeit jewellery items. The alleged offence was selling trademark goods under section 92(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994.

These investigations are usually carried out by Trading Standards. However, the items in this case related to a high-value international brand, and so Pandora had instructed expert Trademark Prosecution lawyers to investigate the matter on their behalf, rather than just reporting the matter to Trading Standards.

He was suspected of selling items on online selling websites such as Ebay and Etsy. He instructed us in the very early stages as soon as he was informed that he was being investigated. Our expert trademark lawyers engaged with the prosecuting lawyers straight away, and then took detailed instructions to gather as much information as possible to assess the position fully. We carefully advised our client on the best approach to take and drafted a detailed prepared statement which was presented in the initial interview.

We then continued to negotiate with prosecution lawyers who eventually accepted an out of court resolution for a small one-off payment and no further action. This meant our client was able to keep his clean record and continue to work in his profession, without the fear of having to go through court proceedings. He told us that when he got the news he felt relieved and elated, and that he could finally continue with his life as before.