The advertising industry would have you believe that an item of one brand is substantially different from an item of a different brand. iPhone users and Android users tend to have an adversarial relationship; if you see your longtime coworker’s phone for the first time, the result might just be a few sarcastic remarks, but if you go on a great first date with someone only to find out that she has the wrong kind of phone, there probably will not be a second date.
For the most part, brands don’t matter that much. You might know someone who walked out of a restaurant upon finding out that it only has Pepsi products, but far more people only have a mild preference for one type of soda over another. Most people are cool with off-brand consumer products; when you see the Listerine and the store-brand mouthwash next to each other on the supermarket shelf, you pick up the store-brand one because you know that it isn’t Listerine, but you don’t care. It isn’t a crime to be tacky, but it is to make false statements for your own financial gain; therefore, it is possible to get criminal penalties for counterfeit trademarking.
If you are facing charges for counterfeit trademarking, contact a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
Texas Counterfeit Trademarking Laws
According to Texas law, it is a crime to manufacture, advertise, or sell consumer products that bear counterfeit trademarks. You can be found guilty of counterfeit trademarking if you knew that the logo or trade dress on the products was fake, meaning that the products were not made by the company whose logo they bear, but you intended to sell them to consumers under false pretenses. For example, a Texas defendant is facing charges for counterfeit trademarking when police searched his car after a traffic stop and found that the trunk of his car contained several tablets and phones bearing fake Apple logos and packaged to look like iPhones and iPads. The penalties for counterfeit trademarking depend on the retail value of the genuine merchandise that the merchandise in your possession is imitating. If the retail value exceeds $30,000, then counterfeit trademarking is a felony.
Defenses to Allegations of Counterfeit Trademarking
You can establish doubt about your charges of counterfeit trademarking if you can convincingly argue that you reasonably believed that the merchandise was genuine, meaning that someone else deceived you. You might also be able to argue that you knew that the products were not genuine articles, but you never meant for buyers to believe that they were. In other words, you are not selling the item at a price comparable to the genuine article; for example, there is a difference between selling costume jewelry at costume jewelry prices and trying to convince a buyer that the accessories contain real gemstones and precious metals.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are being accused of counterfeit trademarking. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC in Dallas, Texas to discuss your case.