Has Serbia become the land of fakes?

According to the analysis of counterfeiting and piracy in Serbia, conducted by the Ministry of Commerce in cooperation with the EU, among the products that are most counterfeited are perfumes, cosmetics, electrical appliances, toys,cigarettes, accessories for vehicles and pyrotechnics.

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Regular seizures of counterfeit medicines represents the greatest cause for concern.

The great danger for consumers is not only are they buying low-quality and dangerous products, but they are exposing their private data, which can be used for further unlawful acts.

The analysis states that this undermines the economy but also the whole fabric of society, because they allow criminals to get closer to the homes of consumers, and that in Serbia and other countries where crime is present in the area of ​​intellectual property, there is a risk that the country is flooded with "economy run by the underworld."

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Due to the quality and volume of counterfeit and pirated goods available in Serbia, there is no doubt that organized crime is behind the production, importation and distribution of the wholesale.

Foto: chinacounterfeitmuseum.com

The study emphasizes that the majority of goods that are sold in markets throughout Serbia are identical, suggesting a connection between the source and distribution channels.

Michael Davenport, Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, said that the protection of intellectual property in Serbia is not fully satisfactory. During the conference "Serbia in the world - enforcing intellectual property rights," he said that Serbian laws generally harmonized with the European legislation, but that it necessary to fully implement the law.

Davenport said that 76 million jobs, ie. 35 percent of total employment in the EU, are generated in sectors that are dependent on the protection of intellectual property rights.

Foto-ilustracija: Tanjug/Aleksandar Ćirić

Last year in Serbia, Customs Administration retained more than 670 000 items on suspicion of  violation of intellectual property rights, including around 160 000 parts for mobile phones and more than 105 000 toys.

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Market Inspectorates seized more than 220 000 products, including 175 000 bottles of alcoholic drinks and more than 5000 body care products.

These products pose a threat to the health and safety of consumers. According to data,in one swoop in Serbia more than half a ton of counterfeit pesticides arrived, that were able to destroy plants and make land useless.

Foto: Milena Đorđević

The goods sold in retail stores can be of poor quality, but most of these goods do not constitute a violation of intellectual property rights, however there are large markets in Subotica, Pancevo and Novi Pazar, where it is suspected that the goods are mainly intellectual property right infringements.

These markets can be considered as distributors for wholesale purposes, due to the volume of goods that they offer.

Counterfeiters and piraters have developed new methods of selling their illicit goods, such as "exclusive" sales outlets in rented apartments and direct sales over advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet, including social media, auction sites and dedicated pirated websites.

(Telegraf.co.uk/ Agencije)