UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 8, 2019. Yekaterinburg Customs officers and police officers from Yekaterinburg division of Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry’s Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Department confiscated a wholesale-sized batch of pirated car parts in Yekaterinburg, Ural Customs’ press service reports.

The officers inspected a store and a warehouse in the city’s District Ordzhonikidzevsky and confiscated over a thousand car parts bearing logos of well-established Japanese brands. The business owner was unable to produce any proof of customs clearance or of the goods’ origin, however. The trademark owner’s representative says the car makers never manufactured the spare parts in question.

The car parts got confiscated and sent for expert examination so that the goods’ value could be determined. The amount of damage done to the trademark owner will have significant bearing on how severe the liability the business owner will have to face will be. Illegal use/abuse of trademarks and logos can result in confiscation, a large fine, and even a prison sentence.