South African in hot water for selling fake Volkswagen accessories
The Gqeberha High Court has convicted a man for contraventions of the Counterfeit goods and Trademark Acts, after he was found to be selling fake Volkswagen vehicle accessories.
The Hawks Serious Commercial Investigation uncovered that the man was selling VW accessories at a car dealership in the city between December 2021 and February 2022. Spoor and Fisher Attorneys whose mandate includes acting on trademark and counterfeit related cases acted on behalf of VW when these allegations came to light.
This was brought to the Eastern Cape Hawks’ for a probe. Consequently, on 6 December 2021, an evidence-gathering transaction was performed where four Volkswagen alloy wheels were purchased.
The purchased goods were analysed and found to be counterfeited. This resulted in a search and seizure operation on 17 February 2022.
Wheels, centre cap hubs, over eighty VW badges and stickers all bearing VW badges were confiscated. The value of the seized items was estimated at just under R90,000, which the German, Wolfsburg based company was prejudiced of.
As a result of the investigation, the man was served with a court summons on 10 March 2022, to face over three hundred and sixty counts, his first court appearance was on 13 April 2022.
Following a plea bargain, the man was ordered to pay a R17,000 fine, which he paid on Tuesday, 19 April.
Furthermore his company, Greystone Trading has been reported to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) for further sanctioning and also faces the prospects of a civil suit from Volkswagen.
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