Fighting fakes, Italian style

Italian police agencies, which for years have proven unable to shut down a huge counterfeit industry that undermines the country's famous brands, recently decided to take the fight to consumers. Police have begun randomly socking tourists with huge fines - 3,300 euros, or about $4,000 - when they are observed buying knockoffs.

This being Italy, enforcement has been fairly capricious, and attempts to inform tourists of the potential penalties have been uneven. Venice and Florence have mounted small information campaigns, but Rome has not. . .

Italian authorities do sometimes prosecute the sellers, but not often. According to the finance police, in the first six months of this year, of the 4,445 people questioned in connection with selling fakes, 3,051 were issued a civil citation, and only 114 were arrested on criminal charges.

Posted by David on September 23, 2005 2:04 PM