If you purchased a lantern in the likeness of Doraemon, Pikachu or a Minion over the Mid-Autumn Festival, be aware that you might have been handling hot property.
Hong Kong Customs on Friday announced a crackdown on wholesale outlets and shops suspected of selling lanterns that infringe copyright laws.
Acting on information from the public and a copyright owner, customs seized 690 lanterns worth an estimated HKD41,000 and arrested four men and eight women over the past three weeks in various districts of Hong Kong.
All those arrested have been bailed pending further investigations.
Wong Yim-pui, head of Hong Kong’s Intellectual Property Investigation Group, advised members of the public to buy their lanterns from shops with good reputations, and reminded traders that the sale of counterfeit goods is a crime.
Under the Copyright Ordinance, those infringing items could receive a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment and a HKD50,000 fine for each illegal copy.
Photo: Alpha via Flickr
