A person does not need to know that goods are counterfeit to be liable for trade mark infringement. A recent reported case in Singapore is a clear reminder that trade mark infringement is a strict liability tort.
This means that a claim can be brought even if there was no knowledge or intention to infringe.
In this case, the director of a local company was charged under the Singapore Trade Marks Act and sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for selling counterfeit SANRIO products. The company was also fined S$13,000.
The sentences were likely influenced by aggravating factors, which included repeated acts of infringement even after the Singapore Police had taken enforcement action against the company. According to the report, the director was responsible for sourcing the products but failed to check whether they were genuine.
For business owners, the lesson is clear - not knowing, or failing to verify, whether goods are genuine can still expose the business to serious legal risk.
Retailers and distributors must understand where their products come from, whether their suppliers are authorised, and whether branded goods are genuine.
In today’s market, intellectual property compliance should not be treated as a legal afterthought. It is part of basic business hygiene.
For selling more than 2,000 counterfeit Sanrio products at three of its stores, a company in Singapore was fined S$13,000, and its 51-year-old female director was sentenced to eight months’ jail. The company, Gem Story Biz Pte Ltd, and its director, 51-year-old Tan Mei Qin, faced 75 charges under the Trade Marks Act, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
