In Derby, England, the city council’s Trading Standards team prosecuted a man on Sept. 6 for printing and selling counterfeit T-shirts. The Derby Crown Court sentenced the anonymous man to 14 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months with 100 hours unpaid work, according to Derby City Council (click the link for the full report from the Derby City Council).

The case shines a light on the risks associated with creating and profiting off of trademarked or copywritten works, whether it be artwork, logos, or designs. The man was printing and selling T-shirts of famous brands without the consent of the trademark owners. The investigation uncovered he was doing so for around four years leading up to December 2019, when a search warrant was carried out at his home, the council notes. It goes on to say that Trading Standards seized a T-shirt printer, several blank T-shirts, and customer returns. The counterfeit shirts were sold on eBay and printed to order from the man’s home address.

Before his home was searched, an anti-counterfeiting organization sent him a request to stop selling the counterfeit shirts, and Derby City Council says he failed to acknowledge its contents and take action to stop T-shirt production and sales. In June 2020, in Derby Magistrates Court, the man pleaded guilty to eight offenses under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and two offenses under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Section 329). He left the court on unconditional bail, and the case was sent to Derby Crown Court, which deals with more serious criminal cases, according to Derby City Council.

Councillor Baggy Shanker, leader of Derby City Council, said: “We take any illegal business activity very seriously, and I’m pleased that we’ve finally been able to secure a prosecution in this case. I’d like to thank our Trading Standards team for their continued hard work in successfully finding and prosecuting illegal traders in our city.”

This article reflects publicly available information at the time of publication.