For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!
Issue link: http://beautystorebusiness.epubxp.com/i/127011
Beauty & The Law sold the products knowing they were counterfeit. A trademark owner may be able to recover its attorney's fees as part of the award from the counterfeiter if it recovers actual damages, but not usually if the trademark owner receives statutory damages. for individuals and $5 million for businesses, and imprisonment for up to five to 10 years. The counterfeit products can be forfeited, together with money earned from counterfeiting and any manufacturing equipment used in their production and packaging. Fake beauty Here are some of the red flags you should consider to avoid purchasing and selling counterfeit products: • Is the purchase through your normal distributor? Counterfeiters tend to sell direct to retailers. • Is the price too low? If the reason for a lower price doesn't check out, you could be buying counterfeits. • Are you buying direct from a manufacturer in China? Unfortunately, the statistics show that most counterfeit imports are from China. • Does the product look exactly like products you know to be real? A counterfeit can look slightly different —compare the product side-by-side to one you know to be legitimate, and look for lower quality printing or packaging. If in doubt, open cosmetics and examine them closely to make sure they are legitimate products. INSPIRE Women's Styles Makeover Haircolor INSPIRE Women's Styles Makeover Cuts INSPIRE Women's Styles Makeover Cuts & Color Now Available EN ESPANÕL! INSPIRE Men's Styles Men's Cuts Educational DVDs Each DVD Only 3495 $ BUY MORE & SAVE! Buy 2 for $5995 Buy 3 for $7495 Buy 4 for $8995 Buy 5 for $10495 That's like buying 3 and getting 2 FREE! Available NOW! INSPIRE Women's Styles Updo's for special occasions Manufacturers of beauty products have taken advantage of the law to sue counterfeiters. Recent cases include: • In 2011, a federal court in Florida decided that Mitchell Group and Gapardis Health and Beauty were entitled to an injunction preventing four counterfeiters from selling their products. • Farouk Systems won a jury award of $200,000 against Costco Wholesale Corp. because the jury found that Costco sold counterfeit CHI hair irons. This award was upheld in 2012. Beauty stores that sell counterfeit products at retail can be liable for counterfeiting damages even if they don't know that the products are counterfeit. You need to take care not to sell counterfeit products, and carefully consider whether there are any red flags before you buy products for resale. Call your distributor today CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT Call 800.634.8500 or visit inspirebooks.com or email The federal government also plays an important role in deterring counterfeiters by bringing criminal charges for counterfeiting. Criminal penalties for first-time offenders include fines of up to $2 million inspire@creativeage.com 60 June 2013 | beautystorebusiness.com products could easily injure consumers, and if the manufacturer knowingly or recklessly causes serious injury, the maximum penalty goes up to 20 years imprisonment. A convicted counterfeiter must also pay restitution. Examples of recent prosecutions include: • A New Jersey resident who sold counterfeit M·A·C Cosmetics at flea markets was sentenced to three years of probation, six months of house arrest and a fine of more than $44,000 in May 2012. A consumer who bought counterfeit eyeliner reported the seller to the police because she developed a rash from the eyeliner. The seller had received notices from a branch of DHS, but kept buying from her supplier in China even though she had reason to know that the products were counterfeit. • In March 2012, several federal agencies acting out of New Jersey cooperated to charge 23 people for importing methamphetamine and counterfeit clothes, shoes and cigarettes. One of those charged had discussed expanding his operations into counterfeit cosmetics.