Mr. Hoang Khai may be prosecuted for the crime of 'Producing and trading in counterfeit goods'

Mr. Hoang Khai, owner of the Khai Silk brand, may be prosecuted for the crime of "Production and trading of counterfeit goods" under Article 156 of the Penal Code.

Regarding the case of Mr. Hoang Khai, owner of the Khai Silk silk store chain, being accused by customers of importing Chinese silk, cutting off the "Made in China" label and attaching the "Made in Viet Nam" label to sell, many opinions say that Khai Silk's actions show signs of violating criminal law.

Mr. Hoang Khai may be prosecuted for the crime of 'Production and trading of counterfeit goods'.

Regarding this issue, lawyer Nguyen The Truyen (Thien Thanh Law Firm, Hanoi Bar Association) commented: As far as I know, Khai Silk has registered intellectual property protection for its products. When registering for trademark protection, businesses must clearly declare the origin, quality, etc. of the product.

A scarf with an additional label of origin that has different content from the previous label is contrary to the information in the trademark protection file in Vietnam.

This behavior also violates Vietnam's current competition law. In Clause 2, 3, Article 28 of Decree No. 71/2014/ND-CP, which stipulates unfair competition related to industrial property:

“Using instructions containing misleading information about trade names, geographical indications, trademarks, product labels... to distort customers' perception of goods and services for competitive purposes" shall be subject to a fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000”.

According to the provisions of Point e, Clause 8, Article 3 of Decree 185/2013/ND-CP dated November 15, 2013 of the Government on regulations on administrative sanctions for violations in commercial activities, production, trading of counterfeit and prohibited goods and consumer protection: "Goods with labels and packaging containing fake instructions on the origin of goods, place of production, packaging, and assembly of goods" are defined as counterfeit goods.

Furthermore, Article 13 and Article 14 of Decree 185/2013/ND-CP provide detailed regulations on sanctions and penalty levels for acts of trading and manufacturing counterfeit goods labels and packaging.

In addition, Mr. Hoang Khai may also be prosecuted for the Crime of Manufacturing and Trading in Counterfeit Goods as prescribed in Article 156 of the 1999 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2009. According to the new provisions in Clause 1, Article 76 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017 (effective from January 1, 2018), commercial legal entities (specifically Khaisilk Group) must also bear criminal responsibility for the Crime of Manufacturing and Trading in Counterfeit Goods as prescribed in Article 192 of the 2015 Penal Code.

According to lawyer Truyen, Mr. Hoang Khai may be prosecuted.

On the consumer side, to protect their rights, according to lawyer Truyen, they have the right to submit a petition to the Competition Management Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to request a settlement or send it to the Consumer Protection Association to request support in resolving compensation claims.

According to the provisions of Clause 6 and Clause 7, Article 8 of the Law on Consumer Protection 2010, in this case, consumers have the right to:

Claim for compensation for damages when goods and services do not meet standards, technical regulations, quality, quantity, features, uses, prices or other contents that the organization or individual trading in goods and services has announced, listed, advertised or committed.

In case their settlement or agreement with Khai Silk is not as expected, consumers have the right to complain, denounce, sue or request a social organization to sue to protect their rights.

According to VTC