Knock Off products sold on the street.

never buy that junk anyway, thanks for the heads up

Wonderful -so rather than take down the vendor and confiscate the products, the authorities would rather wait for someone to innocently buy something and fine THEM 1,000 Euro?

Anyone who buys a knock off product is not "innocently" buying something. They know perfectly well what the score is.

Larry, I imagine the idea is to dry up the demand and the supply will wither.

The vendor is also fined and products are confiscated if there is counterfeiting of the brand involved.

Thank you for posting this, Roberto. We are in Italy now and see this everywhere. It has been a bit surprising to me how naive some of the tourists are - a "leather" jacket for 20 euros is NOT a bargain. Shopping on vacation is fun but make sure you are buying authentic products. We have had fun trying to meet the people who make things here or at least who take pride in offering them for sale in their shops. Avoid the street sellers!

Roberto,

Thanks for posting, as this will be good information for those who might be planning to pick up that "bargain" Louis Vuitton handbag or Rolex watch while in Europe. This is a good example of the old saying, "If it seems too good to be true....." I would never buy this type of cheap junk from a street vendor, and can't afford to buy the real thing so I don't do much shopping when I'm travelling.

I've seen these scams many times in Europe, and it's difficult for the authorities to arrest the scammers. In some countries, they display their wares on a large sheet laid out on the ground. As soon as the Police appear, they close the four corners of the sheet to form a "swag bag" and then take off running in different directions. The Police may get a few of them but the others get away.

Many travellers probably don't realize that they can be arrested and prosecuted for possession of counterfeit goods. Here are a few websites on the topic......

• http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/counterfeit-products.htm
• http://www.rcmp.gc.ca/fep-pelf/ipr-dpi/faq-eng.htm (this one shows that some counterfeit goods can be dangerous)
• http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/2014-12-05-000000/us-customs-and-border-protection-italian-customs

My thanks for your post as well, Roberto. It's well known (or should be) here in the States that knock-off products are illegal, and it's frustrating to see people willfully buying them anyway. Anyone who has ever had their identity stolen - or are nervous about that happening - should understand how a business would feel about someone assuming/exploiting their name (brand).

Demand drives supply so penalizing those who perpetuate the problem is one way to dry up production/sales of these items. Warning signs were clearly posted around the market in Florence so tourists couldn't claim ignorance as an excuse, and we watched the illegal vendors scatter when the authorities made their rounds.

Announcements are made on trains and planes as well, not to purchase these products.

Norma's comment is spot on!!

We actually had them chasing us down the street with pictures. I would not buy any of that stuff, but did not know about the fine. And I have never heard, four times to Italy any announcement on a plane or train. In fact on the trains we hardly saw a real person running the train.