How far can the career crackdown go?
The self-report of a "professional counterfeiter":
Debt millions of yuan and switch to anti-counterfeiting for more than half a year, only to receive 20,000 yuan in compensation
At the end of last year, Chen Zhiqiang, a "post-00 professional anti-counterfeiter" in Guangdong, was investigated by the police on suspicion of extortion.
"Professional anti-counterfeiting" has been pushed to the forefront again, and the controversy has resumed...
In Neijiang, Sichuan, 26-year-old Wang Zhi is also concerned about the trend of Chen Zhiqiang's alleged extortion case.
From September 2021 to the present, for more than half a year, he said that he has filed 60 or 70 anti-counterfeiting lawsuits, most of which have been withdrawn.
According to the 41 public judgment documents, the court ordered the merchant to compensate Wang Zhi for more than 30,000 yuan in 9 judgment cases.
However, Wang Zhi said that after some applications are executed, they still cannot get compensation, and the compensation amount is about 20,000 yuan.
Why embark on the road of "professional crackdown"?
In an interview with a reporter from Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News, Wang Zhi said that he had worked outside the country for more than 10 years and owed millions of dollars. At first, he was forced to switch to "fighting counterfeiters" to make money, but now "finding money" is also his purpose. one.
Talking about the constantly controversial "professional crackdown on counterfeiting", Wang Zhi, who has recently joined the circle, believes that the circle is very chaotic, and some people "play rogues and play side balls", even at the expense of illegal operations, so many people do not support this line, "but according to the legal process to crack down on counterfeiting. , definitely no problem." In his opinion, the best result is "there is no fake in the world", there is no counterfeiting and selling, and there is no room for "professional anti-counterfeiting"...
"Fake career"
Sixty or seventy lawsuits were filed in more than half a year, most of which were withdrawn
Wang Zhi, 26 years old, a native of Neijiang, Sichuan, graduated from junior high school at the age of 14 and went out to work. Now he is the father of two children.
In June last year, after returning to the small mountain village where his hometown is located, he did not go out to work again.
On March 28, when the reporter came to the village, talking about Wang Zhi, the impression of the villagers was that he started a "professional fight against counterfeiting" after returning home this time.
In this regard, Wang Zhi also made no secret of it, admitting that since the "anti-counterfeiting" began in September last year, 60 or 70 anti-counterfeiting lawsuits have been filed.
"There are only 10 or 20 cases in court." Wang Zhi said that most of the other anti-counterfeiting lawsuits have been withdrawn, because many anti-counterfeiting products could not be found by merchants.
According to the 41 judgment documents published by China Judgment Documents Network, since September last year, Wang Zhi has withdrawn 32 anti-counterfeiting lawsuits.
In the nine anti-counterfeiting lawsuits that were pronounced, the court ordered the merchants to refund Wang Zhi more than 2,500 yuan for the goods and compensate more than 30,000 yuan.
The anti-counterfeiting products in the 9 cases were goat milk powder, ostrich milk powder, protein powder, Pu-erh tea and other foods he purchased on Pinduoduo or Douyin.
In its judgment, the court found that the food sold by the merchant did not meet the food safety standards, and supported Wang Zhi’s request for ten times the compensation in accordance with the Food Safety Law.
During the trial, some merchants argued that Wang Zhi was not an ordinary consumer, but the court held that in the field of food and medicine, Wang Zhi was not excluded as a buyer and did not support the merchant's defense.
"There are two cases where the court has sentenced them, but they couldn't execute them, and they didn't get (compensation)." Wang Zhi told reporters. If he didn't want the goods, he lost more than 14,000 yuan.
So far, he has received a total of about 20,000 yuan in compensation.
At the corner of the stairwell in Wang Zhi's hometown, there are still a lot of online shopping products ready to "crack down", most of which are food.
He said there are dozens more in the pipeline.
Why "fake"?
I owe millions of yuan for projects, and I have no choice but to change careers to make money
In the bedroom on the second floor of Wang Zhi's house, there are legal books such as "Civil Code", "Food Safety Law", "Consumer Rights Protection Law" and "Civil Procedure Law" on the desk, and many court summons and judgments are hung on the wall.
On the computer that is on, there is not only the inquiry page of the national enterprise credit information publicity system, but also the dialogue window of the "anti-counterfeiting compensation group", "anti-counterfeiting rights protection study and discussion", "China anti-counterfeiting alliance" and other groups...
Wang Zhi said that he mainly learned about relevant regulations on food safety and product quality through online channels, such as reading judgment documents.
"I did this (anti-counterfeiting) at first out of helplessness." Wang Zhi said that after he went out to work at the age of 14, he owed millions in debts for more than 10 years from working to contracting projects.
After returning to his hometown in June 2021, he worked for a few months at the construction site in his hometown.
"I owe a butt of debt, there is no way..."
To this end, in September 2021, he embarked on the road of "fake counterfeiting".
"When you are not good at learning, there are also failures." Wang Zhi said that so far, the only time he has lost money is tea.
In this anti-counterfeiting campaign, the merchants used newly registered manufacturers to sell goods that had been cancelled by the old factory. Due to the poor judicial identification, they only returned the goods for a refund without compensation.
But after he returned it in a complete package, the unpacking video recorded by the merchant when he received the goods showed that the tea was rotten and "lost a little money."
Wang Zhi's anti-counterfeiting products are mostly food and health care products.
In his view, this is because food and health care products have low costs, high profits, and many people who sell them, making them easy to find.
"If I have the money, maybe I will meet one and buy one." Wang Zhi, who has an account on a common e-commerce platform, said that the current fakes are "fake at a glance".
"Some products do not have a manufacturer, or the production batch number and production license number are all mislabeled, which can be seen at a glance on the platform."
In the "anti-counterfeiting", Wang Zhi chose the path of direct prosecution.
"I buy all products online, from other places, the most direct way to sue." Wang Zhi, who is familiar with the rights protection methods in the Consumer Rights Protection Law, believes that in online shopping disputes, there is no better way than prosecution.
Wang Zhi admitted to reporters that he did fight counterfeiting to "make money" at first, and now relying on counterfeiting to "find money" is also one of the purposes.
"But on the other hand, if this industry doesn't exist anymore, I will definitely change my career. To put it bluntly, there are no fakes anymore, so what am I doing?"
"Professional Fake"
"Anti-counterfeiting is not a fake fight", the method of fighting counterfeit must be in accordance with the law
After Chen Zhiqiang, a "post-00 professional anti-counterfeiter" in Guangdong, was investigated by the police at the end of 2021 for alleged extortion, the controversy of "professional anti-counterfeiting" has resurfaced.
Wang Zhi also paid attention to Chen Zhiqiang's alleged racketeering case and its trend.
"There was a saying in the industry that 'anti-counterfeiting is not counterfeiting'." Wang Zhi believes that the reason why Chen Zhiqiang was handed over to the public security organ by the court and was investigated for alleged extortion is because some of his anti-counterfeiting methods are disgusting.
In his view, whether there is a problem with the anti-counterfeiting products, at least until the court decides.
"Even if the court doesn't judge you to win, but judges you to lose, and does not support ten times the compensation, but the court finds that there is a problem with the product, it is the correct way and process to carry out the next step of rights protection."
Judging from his own anti-counterfeiting experience and understanding, Wang Zhi believes that it is necessary to support professional anti-counterfeiting.
"For example, milk powder and medicines, from the perspective of social welfare, the products of small workshops are not safe, and they are not taxed." He said that counterfeit sellers take a small risk, obtain high profits, and harm the interests of consumers.
However, many ordinary consumers do not know how to take up legal rights protection, and merchants know how to evade ordinary consumers' rights protection, leaving many consumers with no way out.
"So, professional anti-counterfeiters are still needed to crack down on them."
As for the society's doubts about "professional anti-counterfeiting", in his view, prosecution is the easiest and most effective way to crack down on counterfeiting. Even if the counterfeiters can't get compensation in the end, restricting merchants' high consumption can also have a certain effect.
But he also believes that if the crackdown on counterfeiting is purely for profit, it will be a waste of judicial resources.
Although he entered the circle not long ago, Wang Zhi believes that the "professional anti-counterfeiting" circle is very chaotic.
"There are also 'shit stirrers' in this industry, and some people even operate illegally." He said that if there are counterfeiters looking for businesses to "play rogues"; some products have no problems, and the counterfeiters have to find out the problem; there are even people who "sell" Links” let other people fight counterfeiting, or lead many people to “cheat” a product... “They play side balls, or even break the law, and risk being caught. Because of the chaos in this industry, many people don’t support it.”
Wang Zhi believes that there will be no problem in cracking down on counterfeiting according to the legal process.
Talking about future plans, Wang Zhi said that he will continue to crack down on counterfeiting. Even if he starts a business in the future, he may continue to do so, but the style of play will change, not for the purpose of money.
In his opinion, the best result is "there is no fake in the world", there is no counterfeiting and selling, and there is no room for "professional anti-counterfeiting". "If there is no counterfeiting to fight against, then change your career."
(At the request of the interviewee, Wang Zhi is a pseudonym)
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Yao Yongzhong
sound
support? be opposed to? neutral? Where are you standing?
How to evaluate "professional crackdown"?
He Shan, a well-known civil law expert known as the father of China's consumer law, said, "I have always talked about 'consumer anti-counterfeiting', 'civil anti-counterfeiting', '315 anti-counterfeiting', but not 'professional anti-counterfeiting'. The outlook is full of confidence.”
Wang Hai, a well-known anti-counterfeiter, believes that the law is mainly used to restrain evil, and punishment can better restrain evil.
For the production and sale of counterfeit goods, it is not enough to rely on the crackdown by the regulatory authorities. It is necessary to give full play to the power of consumers from all over the world and all walks of life.
Occupational anti-counterfeiting is essentially a social co-governance.
Tan Yuan, executive director of the Competition Law Research Center of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that, as far as he knows, in some grassroots law enforcement agencies, due to the fear of professional anti-counterfeiters filing administrative reconsideration and administrative lawsuits, the law enforcement agencies have to shift the focus of law enforcement to the On the issue of defects in goods and services that would not have caused substantial damage to consumers, it is likely that those consumers who have actually suffered damage cannot obtain effective administrative remedies in a timely manner.
Wu Jingming, vice president of the Beijing Consumer Rights Protection Law Society, said that professional anti-counterfeiters have been accompanied by controversy since the day they were born. Now some so-called professional anti-counterfeiters are more appropriate to be called "professional claimants" because of commercial profits. heavier.
In Wu Jingming's view, future norms do not necessarily have to be legally defined at the legislative level, but can continue to adopt a vague approach, hand over power to the judiciary, and allow judges to solve problems through discretion.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, said, "I think there is nothing wrong with professional anti-counterfeiting, even if it is an emerging profession, it is the same as the vulture lawyers group that exists in the US capital market. But it should not be too wasteful. National administrative resources, especially professional anti-counterfeiting cannot be turned into professional blackmail, let alone collect protection fees." Zhu Wei said.
(According to China Youth Network)
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Guangzhou court
Implementing new regulations to deal with occupational anti-counterfeiting and profit-making
From September to October 2021, Guangzhou Haizhu Court has successively accepted 515 product seller liability disputes brought by anti-counterfeiters from different occupations against dozens of small and medium-sized supermarkets in the jurisdiction. For this reason, the merchant is required to refund and pay ten times the punitive damages according to the law, and the subject matter involved in the case amounts to several hundred thousand yuan.
The Haizhu Court has implemented new adjudication concepts and rules in the adjudication of food industry anti-counterfeiting cases.
Compensation for the first case: If multiple professional anti-counterfeiters purchased the same kind of food that did not meet the food safety standards from the same merchant at the same time, they all filed a claim for "one refund for ten", and the professional anti-counterfeiter who filed the case first The legally established litigation claims shall be supported, and the punitive compensation claims made by other professional anti-counterfeiters who have filed the case shall not be supported.
Uniform punitive damages standard: In the first case in support of punitive damages, in order to avoid the appearance of chaos such as the amount of punitive damages supported by judicial judgments depending on the strength of the professional anti-counterfeiter's willingness to make profits, the professional anti-counterfeiter should submit a claim to the same business. The punitive damages for the same kind of food, regardless of the quantity, the number of times, or the total price, are only compensated at ten times the unit price of the food, and if it is less than one thousand yuan, the compensation is one thousand yuan.
Fake one full refund: In the food purchased by the professional anti-counterfeiter, it is proved that some of the food does not meet the food safety standards. If the professional anti-counterfeiter claims to return all the food, it will be treated as the recalled food, and if a full refund is claimed, according to " The provisions of Article 24 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law shall be supported.
(according to Guangzhou Daily)
The judgment of the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court supports ten times the claims of "professional anti-counterfeiters"
On July 10 and 23, 2020, Li Moumou, who lives in Qingdao, purchased a certain amount of coffee from a company's online store in Fuzhou and signed for it. On August 29, 2020, the inspection report of the relevant testing unit showed that coffee The tadalafil content was 766 μg/g.
Tadalafil (Viagra) is a prescription drug, and should be identified as a "toxic and harmful non-food raw material" according to relevant regulations, and the food involved has no Chinese label.
Li Moumou later filed a lawsuit with a district court in Qingdao, demanding the return of the purchase price and the payment of ten times the compensation.
In the second instance of this case, the judge of the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court held that if because of his previous anti-counterfeiting experience, he is no longer considered a consumer when he re-consumes, then the "professional anti-counterfeiting person" as a consumer is undoubtedly deprived of his ability to civil rights. , whose rights in the consumption field are violated will not receive legal remedies.
To manage food safety, we must use the strictest standards, the strictest supervision, the most severe punishment, and the most serious accountability.
At the same time, the people's court should support consumers in cracking down on counterfeiting, and let the whole society know through individual cases that food safety standards are red lines and cannot be touched, otherwise the price will be paid.
As a result, the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court changed its judgment to uphold the tenfold compensation claim claimed by the "professional anti-counterfeiter" against imported food without Chinese labels and containing prescription drugs.
(According to Qingdao Daily)