Counterfeiting - a Fight Won at the Border and Expensive in the Market
Fighting counterfeits follows one simple logic: the earlier the goods are stopped, the cheaper it is. A consignment held by customs is resolved in a single procedure; the same goods, once spread across the market, ten shops and two online platforms, become ten separate cases - and most of them stop making economic sense. That is exactly why recording a right in the customs register is a brand owner's first step, not the last.
This page sets out the full enforcement arsenal and the order in which it is used: how a right is entered in the customs register and what happens after goods are suspended, how a cease-and-desist letter and online takedowns work, what a lawyer claims in court and how evidence is preserved through interim measures, when the Competition Agency is the better route and when a criminal complaint is. Trademark registration and copyright have their own pages.
Five Instruments - What Each Stops, How Fast and at What Cost
The instruments do not exclude one another - a sound strategy runs two or three channels at once, because each has its own speed and its own effect.
A Counterfeiting Case - From the Register to Destruction
Preparing the right and the evidence
A registered trademark or a documented copyright chain, a description of the genuine product and its distinguishing features (packaging, markings, holograms, serial numbers) - for customs and for expert examination. The lawyer prepares this "technical dossier" so that an inspector can tell the original from a counterfeit unaided.
Entry in the customs register
An application to the Revenue Service with the title document, a description of the products, the list of official importers and a contact person; security where required. The register is valid for years and subject to renewal; the lawyer keeps the renewal calendar.
Reacting to a suspension
After customs notifies, the deadline is short: inspecting the sample, confirming in writing that the goods are counterfeit, choosing the next step - agreement with the importer on destruction, or a court claim. Inaction means the consignment is released, so the lawyer sets up the reaction procedure in advance.
Cease-and-desist and negotiation
A claim to the importer, manufacturer or seller: stop the infringement, destroy the remaining stock, disclose the supplier, pay compensation. Often the disclosure of the supplier is the most valuable outcome - it reveals the head of the chain.
Claim and interim measures
A claim for an injunction, seizure and destruction of the goods, damages or compensation; a motion for interim relief on the first day - attachment of the goods, blocking of a site, preservation of documents. Without interim relief the goods are sold during the proceedings and the evidence disappears.
Systematic monitoring
Regular checks of the market and online platforms, a procedure for customs notifications, and tightening distributor contracts (marking, reporting, liability) - so that counterfeiting is not a one-off case but a managed process.
The Customs Register - Why This Fight Is Won at the Border
The customs register is the least used and most effective intellectual property instrument in Georgia. The logic is simple: the rights holder enters the right in the Revenue Service register, with a description of the products and their distinguishing features; during customs clearance the inspector temporarily suspends a suspicious consignment and notifies the owner. One consignment, one decision - and the counterfeits never reach the market at all. Without the register the same goods are sold first, and removing them afterwards is a dozen separate procedures.
The register works on three conditions. The first is the quality of the description: the inspector has seconds and needs concrete features that identify the genuine article (packaging, typeface, codes, hologram, the list of official importers). The second is speed of reaction: suspension is temporary, and the owner must confirm within the short statutory period that the goods are counterfeit and state the next step, otherwise the consignment is released. The third is readiness: who the contact person is, who goes to inspect the sample, who signs the letter.
After a suspension there are three scenarios. The fastest is the importer's consent to destruction (often they were themselves deceived by the supplier and want no dispute); the second is a court claim, which keeps the goods held for the duration of the proceedings; the third is a criminal complaint, where scale and systematic conduct justify it. The lawyer's task is to choose quickly among the three, because the deadlines run in days, not weeks.
What a Counterfeiting Case Rests On
- A registered right
- The customs register and most enforcement instruments rest on a registered trademark or a documented copyright; without registration what remains is the unfair competition route and general civil proceedings, which are slow.
- Temporary suspension of goods
- Customs suspends suspicious goods temporarily and notifies the rights holder; a short statutory period then applies for the next step, and missing it means the consignment is released.
- Interim measures
- Filed with the claim: attachment of goods, blocking of a site or page, preservation of evidence; without interim relief the counterfeits are sold during the proceedings and the outcome becomes formal.
- Seizure and destruction
- By court order counterfeit goods are withdrawn from circulation and destroyed; the cost is as a rule borne by the infringer. Removing the markings and "reselling" the goods is not permitted.
- Compensation
- Where the exact loss is hard to calculate the law provides for statutory compensation; the infringer's profits may also be claimed - often easier to prove from their sales data.
- The criminal threshold
- Infringement of a trademark or copyright causing substantial damage is punishable under the Criminal Code; that route is for systematic, large-scale production, not a one-off infringement.
What to Prepare for the Customs Register and for Enforcement
- The title document: the trademark certificate (or an international registration designating Georgia), or the chain of copyright.
- A detailed description of the genuine product: packaging, markings, typefaces, colour codes, hologram, the format of serial numbers - with photographs.
- The list of official importers, distributors and production sites - so that legitimate consignments are not suspended without cause.
- The typical signs of the counterfeit, if you have already encountered it: where it is produced, how it differs, which suppliers appear.
- A contact person and a reaction procedure: who receives the customs notification, who inspects the sample, who signs the reply - the deadline runs in days.
- An online monitoring list: marketplaces, social networks and sites where counterfeits have appeared or may appear.
Three Counterfeiting Cases
A consignment stopped at the border
The Georgian representative of a cosmetics brand entered the right in the customs register; two months later customs suspended an importer's consignment. The lawyer: inspected the sample within the deadline, confirmed in writing that the goods were counterfeit (the packaging codes and typeface did not match) and negotiated with the importer - who agreed to destruction and disclosed the supplier. One procedure also revealed the head of the chain.
An online shop "reproducing" the brand
A local online shop used the brand's design, a logo similar to the mark and the product photographs. The lawyer: copyright in the photographs, trademark in the logo; a notarised record, the platform's takedown procedure, a cease-and-desist letter and then a claim with a motion to block the site. The page was removed and a settlement recorded compensation and an undertaking to stop.
A workshop printing fake labels
A brand owner discovered that a local workshop was printing its labels and applying them to other products. The lawyer: evidence gathering (a test purchase, photographs, samples), a criminal complaint given the scale and, in parallel, a civil claim for an injunction with interim attachment of the printing equipment and the remaining stock. Production ceased and the goods were destroyed.
Questions About Counterfeiting
My brand is not registered. Can I still fight counterfeits?
Only to a limited extent: the customs register and the main enforcement instruments rest on a registered right. Without registration what remains is the unfair competition route (misleading packaging, imitation) and copyright in elements that are works (a photograph, a design, a label). The practical advice is one: start the trademark registration in parallel - the appearance of counterfeits is itself proof that the brand is valuable.
How difficult is it to get into the customs register?
Procedurally, not difficult: an application, the title document, a description of the products, the list of official importers and a contact person. The hard part is the quality of the description - the inspector must be able to identify the genuine article unaided. The lawyer's work is preparing that dossier and setting up the reaction procedure: after a suspension the deadlines run in days.
The importer says the goods are genuine and imported from Europe. Is that allowed?
Parallel imports of genuine goods and counterfeiting are different questions: the first depends on the rules on exhaustion of rights and is assessed case by case, the second is an unconditional infringement. The lawyer first checks the authenticity of the sample (markings, codes, confirmation from the manufacturer) and then chooses the legal characterisation - the "parallel import" argument often conceals counterfeits.
How much will I recover in damages?
It depends on what you can prove: actual loss (a fall in sales, reputational harm) requires evidence; the alternatives are statutory compensation, awarded without an exact calculation, or a claim for the infringer's profits (often easier to prove from their sales data). In practice, stopping the infringement and destroying the goods is usually worth more to a brand than the money.
Should I go to the police or to court?
It depends on scale. One shop or one online page - a cease-and-desist letter and a civil claim; systematic production, printing of labels, large consignments - a criminal complaint, which allows searches and seizures, alongside the civil claim and the customs register. The lawyer combines the three channels into one strategy, because each works at a different pace.
Lawyers for Counterfeiting Cases
Fighting counterfeits depends on preparation: the register, the dossier and the reaction procedure must exist before the infringement. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who handles enforcement with customs, platforms and the courts.
No published lawyers in this category yet
That does not mean we cannot help. Call us - we will match you with a specialist for a remote consultation or from a nearby city.
Call: 568 330 318Other Services in Intellectual Property
Is a Copy of Your Product in the Market or on Its Way to the Border?
At a free consultation the lawyer assesses which right you hold on paper, whether the customs register is worth it in your case and through which channel the counterfeits will be stopped fastest. The coordinator calls in 15 minutes.