Six people were arrested by Hong Kong Customs officers during an
operation in the past two days to crack down on trademark
infringement activities relating to products of Beijing 2008
Olympic Games, the Customs said Friday.
In the raids at Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, Customs
officers from the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau seized
from seven hawker stalls about 350 pieces of goods, including key
rings, watches, caps, badges and stickers, worth about HK$7,000
(about US$897).
Most of the seized goods bore forged trademark -- the Official
Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, or "Fuwa"s.
Three men and three women, aged between 40 and 60, were arrested
during the Customs' operation.
After the operation, Customs officers sought help from Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, the
trademark owner, in trademark identification.
Initial Customs investigation showed that the goods were of low
quality and priced about half of the genuine goods sold at official
channels.
According to the trademark owner, the genuine products should
have anti-counterfeiting labels and certificate of examination.
They are sold at licensed retail outlets.
Hong Kong Customs has stepped up surprise checks in the region,
taking stringent enforcement against selling activities of
counterfeit Beijing 2008 Olympic Games products.
The Beijing 2008 Olympics' equestrian events will be held in
Hong Kong in 2008
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2007)