Fight against counterfeiting to be strengthened

A Swiss customs officer watches the destruction of counterfeit furniture. An Italian furniture maker had the exclusive rights for making the chairs and sofas and it requested their destruction. They had been discovered by Swiss Customs in a container arriving from China. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

From counterfeit luxury watches to designer handbags, a new process will make it easier to destroy fake products arriving in Switzerland in small consignments.

On Wednesday the government noted the outcome of the consultation procedure, which met broad approval, and submitted a draft to parliament.

The Swiss economy is disproportionately affected by counterfeiting, with Swiss rights holders occupying fourth place among companies whose intellectual property rights are most infringed by imitations worldwide, the government said in a statementExternal link.

“Infringements of trademarks, patents, designs and copyright are increasing worldwide and causing significant damage. This ranges from losses in profit and shortfalls in tax and social security payments to health risks for consumers,” it said.

In more than 90% of cases, counterfeit goods intercepted at the border are transported in small consignments containing no more than three products. The rapid growth of online trade has compounded the problem, the government said.

Labour intensive

The current procedure for destroying these goods is very labour intensive for the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security because both the rights holders and the buyers have to be informed, the government said. It also places an administrative burden on rights holders. “This usually proves to be unnecessary because, in the vast majority of cases, the buyer admits that they have purchased a counterfeit and agrees for it to be destroyed,” it said.

The government has proposed simplifying the procedure: only the person who ordered the goods will be informed of the interception at the border at first. If they consent, the counterfeit will be destroyed. Only if they object to its destruction will the rights holder be informed so that the rights holder can take the next steps.

The revision provides that rights holders will still be able to request the destruction of the goods in accordance with the existing ordinary procedure.