China cracks down on counterfeits, seizes 7,600 fake luxury goods

On June 16, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Work Leading Group Office led a joint task force to crack down on infringement and counterfeiting around Guangzhou Railway Station. In recent years, China has stepped up its efforts to combat counterfeit goods by strengthening laws, raising fines, and utilizing technologies like big data and artificial intelligence to improve surveillance of such activities. Additionally, the government has intensified efforts around international collaboration and exerted pressure on e-commerce companies to enact more stringent verification and review procedures. This latest crackdown on fake luxury goods in Guangzhou involved market supervision and public security departments from both city and district levels, as well as inspections of several major markets. Seventeen cases were filed in total: nine administrative and eight criminal. Around 7,600 items suspected of infringing on the trademarks of brands like Hermès, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace were seized. Earlier this year, it was reported that French luxury group LVMH was in talks with ByteDance Ltd. regarding concerns around the selling of counterfeit luxury goods on TikTok, the most popular short video sharing platform globally. Over the years, brands have been exploring new ways of preventing the spread of counterfeits, including using blockchain and other technologies. Meanwhile, in the world of hard luxury, fake gold scams have become more common in China in recent months, tricking thousands of unsuspecting customers. These schemes involve the sale of fake or subpar gold that is promoted as “999 gold,” the purest form of the metal, which contains 99.9% of the yellow metal. Due to the supposed safe haven value of gold in an uncertain economic environment, many Chinese citizens have been investing in bullion as a result of the recent surge in fraudulent activity and gold prices. The market for gold jewelry and bullion has expanded significantly as millions of Chinese customers shift their investments towards gold, considering it a more reliable option than real estate. This trend has been accelerated by China's central bank, which has made massive purchases of gold for its reserves over the past two years.

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China cracks down on counterfeits, seizes 7,600 fake luxury goods