Counterfeiting: more fines for tourists

The summer is back and so are the fines for selling or buying counterfeit goods.

Just over two months ago, a young Norwegian student was caught buying a counterfeit watch in San Lorenzo, Florence, and was fined one thousand euros.

Information about the fine was leaked to the foreign press and it almost became an international incident, which ended with a meeting in Rome between the Ambassador to Norway and the Prefect of Florence.

Only a few days after this news item appeared, the story was repeated.

Yesterday, a German tourist bought a pair of sunglasses from an unlicensed street trader and was fined a thousand euros by local police.

The case is destined to spark off more polemics, as is the law that punishes people who sell fake goods as well as those who buy them.

However, it should be underscored that today the counterfeiting business represents 7% of the entire international turnover.

The eyewear sector, in which research and applied technology combine to add value to fashion and design, is subject to all kinds of counterfeiting, from trademarks to patents, the modification of models and industrial designs, and provenance (made-in origin).

Every year in the eyewear sector, counterfeiting is responsible for the loss of around 15% of the market.

In Italy alone, hundreds of thousands of counterfeit glasses are confiscated every year by customs and the financial police.

Counterfeiting is often considered to be a necessary consequence of commercial success, but in this sector there are much more serious side effects: counterfeiters are not concerned about the harmful effects of their activities on companies in the sector or on consumers; they sell poor-quality products on the market that are often a serious hazard for health, especially when it comes to the close relationship between the quality of glasses and their function.

Anfao has been fighting counterfeiting for many years.An example of its commitment is the protocol of understanding with the Customs Agencies and the convention between Certottica and the Ministry for Manufacturing for safeguarding consumer health.

Especially during the summer, when sunglasses are an essential accessory, we must not drop our guard and the consumer must be informed about the risks of counterfeit products.