The whole family produces counterfeit and inferior chargers, and online stores with sales exceeding one million yuan are sued
Article Source:Yangzi Evening | Author:News reporter Liu Liu | Issuing Time:2024.03.18
The voltage and current of electric vehicle chargers from different brands vary, and mixing them can damage the battery. In severe cases, it can also cause self ignition and explosion, posing significant safety hazards. Recently, the Yizheng City Procuratorate has filed a public prosecution against the defendant Li and others, who produce and sell counterfeit electric vehicle chargers from brands such as Super Wei and Emma, on suspicion of counterfeiting registered trademarks.
"The pirated chargers we produce are much thinner than the genuine ones, and the quality of the components is not as good as the genuine ones. We just bought parts, shells, and trademark stickers from the town and came back to assemble them," Li confessed to the investigative agency. Despite knowing that producing and selling counterfeit chargers from other brands is illegal and the quality is not up to standard, driven by interests, Li and others have gradually entered the abyss of crime.
Li, born in the 1990s, worked in an electronics factory after graduating from high school and learned about the technology and process of charger manufacturers, from which he saw business opportunities. In 2019, he decided to open an online store and buy a registered trademark for a certain brand of battery chargers from an electronics factory owner. However, the brand was not well-known enough, and not many people bought it, making little money. Looking around, many colleagues are selling chargers from major brands such as "Super Power" and "Emma", all of which are selling very well. Li thinks they must have never been authorized or caught by the public security. Why am I so honest about selling genuine products? Out of luck and conformity, Li has been following these people and starting to sell counterfeit products in online stores since 2020.
Li rented a factory in the town and hired workers. He called his father, wife, uncle and other relatives over to help, purchased parts for assembly and labeling, and completed production. Afterwards, Li registered multiple Pinduoduo and Taobao stores for sales, but due to lack of experience, the online store did not operate well. Li thought of Chen, who had just been sentenced for selling electric vehicle chargers with counterfeit registered trademarks and was still in probation. Li had approached Chen several times, invited him to eat and drink, and offered to cooperate with him, asking for his help. At first, Chen hesitated, but Li confidently stated that he would not disclose Chen to the public security organs afterwards and would take responsibility for any issues. Because he had worked in this industry before and knew that selling counterfeit chargers could earn money, Chen still couldn't resist the temptation and agreed to Li's invitation. The two of them partnered to register two stores on Taobao, and sales immediately increased. In order to expand their business, they rented another factory and hired workers to continue producing chargers. The total cost of a charger does not exceed 20 yuan, and the selling price ranges from 30 to 40 yuan. Li, Chen, and others are unwilling to stop in the face of high profit returns until they are caught by the public security organs.
As of being arrested by the public security organs, Li and others have sold approximately 34000 counterfeit registered trademark chargers through Pinduoduo and Taobao online stores, with a sales amount of over 1 million yuan. According to the Criminal Law of our country, if a person uses the same trademark as the registered trademark on the same goods without the permission of the registered trademark owner, and the circumstances are serious, it constitutes the crime of counterfeiting the registered trademark. After examination, the Yizheng City Procuratorate has prosecuted Li and others who are suspected of committing crimes in accordance with the law. At present, the case is still under trial.
Correspondent Wu Yun, Yangzi Evening News Network/Ziniu News Reporter Liu Liu