According to a press release issued last Friday, 22 October, the Authority for Food and Economic Safety (ASAE) has carried out during the last few months several search and seizure operations all over Portugal focusing on the sale of lighters, in the fight against the infringement of industrial property rights, namely counterfeiting, imitation and illegal use of trademarks.
This operation culminated in the seizure of “154,185 lighters valued at 82,000 euros, resulting in 42 criminal proceedings, with the main infringements being the counterfeiting, sale, circulation or concealment of goods, merchandise fraud and the imitation or illegal use of a trademark”.
It is also important to mention that counterfeit lighters are considered as being potentially dangerous articles because they do not comply with the legally stipulated safety requirements, “thus posing a risk of danger to consumers”.
