What to do if you bought a fake?

Find out here what you can do if you have purchased a counterfeit or plagiarized product.

In general, the well-known principle applies: "Ignorance is no excuse. In the area of product piracy, this basically means that consumers have to make sure that they are not being sold counterfeit branded products when they make a purchase. But what can a consumer do if he has unwittingly purchased a counterfeit? Where can he find help and advice?

Step 1: Return the counterfeit

Anyone who has unwittingly bought products from a counterfeiter should first try to return them directly to the seller and have the purchase price refunded. However, this is very difficult, especially in the case of flying dealers and purchases made abroad.

Step 2: Dealer ads

The next step may be to either report the trader in question to customs or to inform the IP right holder about the counterfeits. Further prosecution of the trader may be initiated under these conditions.

Step 3: Take legal action

As a further option, you should contact a lawyer for advice on whether it is worth taking legal action. In doing so, you should consider whether the chances of success of a legal dispute are in proportion to the damage caused by the counterfeiting.

Organizations on the subject of counterfeiting and plagiarism

In addition to the above measures, consumers can also find advice and information from German customs.
However, the Aktionskreis Deutsche Wirtschaft gegen Produkt- und Markenpiraterie (APM) e. V. also offers information on its homepage about how consumers should behave.

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