Crackdown on counterfeit goods urged

The Alliance Against IP Theft is calling for a crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods at markets and car boot sales.

The issue of counterfeit goods being sold at markets and car boot sales must be tackled, the Alliance Against Intellectual Property (IP) Theft has stressed.

Launching a new national charter, the UK-based coalition of trade associations and enforcement organisations said it is committed to ensuring that such events remain fake-free.

Announced at the Trading Standards Institute's annual conference in Brighton, the charter brings together local authorities, market operators and traders and copyright owners.

Titled Real Deal: Working Together For Fake-Free Markets, it highlights the problems associated with regulating car boot sales and local markets where vendors of counterfeit goods often set up their stalls.

It points out that without a new regulatory approach, selling fake and pirated products will continue to be seen as an easy way to make money by those involved.

And it states that as well as harming copyright and trademark holders, the counterfeit market also puts consumers at risk of being ripped off or sold substandard goods.

Speaking at the launch of the charter, Liz Bales, director general of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, said over one-quarter of all fake DVD purchases are made at car boot sales.

"The average price for a counterfeit DVD at a market or car boot fair is £3.09. While consumers may feel that they are getting a bargain, the real beneficiaries are the criminals who are breaking the law by selling illegal DVDs," she commented.

The Alliance Against IP Theft is urging market operators to sign up the charter and work closely with their local authority trading standards service to improve awareness and crack down on the intellectual property issue.

Last month, the organisation warned that sales of counterfeit goods could increase during the recession as consumers look to save money.