Growing international trade in the exporting country is leading to a surge in counterfeit products, including electronic products, with legal sanctions proving insufficient.
The number of tourists bringing in counterfeit items has fallen but counterfeits arriving by post or private shipping are more difficult for customs officers to track, Swiss Info reported. Counterfeits bought online in small quantities are becoming more popular.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in 2013 that 29 million genuine Swiss watches were made, compared to 33 million fakes. Most of the counterfeits come from China, India, Singapore, the Emirates, Pakistan and Turkey.
Each year Swiss customs detect 2,000 to 3,000 violations of the law on trademark and brand-name protection in tourist traffic alone, with many travelers saying they didn’t know they were carrying counterfeits.
Customs at Zurich Airport have around 150 laws to enforce, and will often perform spot checks to protect “brands and trademarks but also designs, endangered species [and] cultural treasures”, and they also have to inform manufacturers of any infractions they detect.
Switzerland is a prime target for organised criminals like the Camorra in Naples, the Chinese Triads and the Japanese Yakuza, as the country represents a less risky revenue source in terms of legal sanctions. It tightened its legislation in 2008 with a ban on importing counterfeit items, although possessing such items is not ground for prosecution, the Federal Court determined last year.
Sabine Dändliker, head of awareness group Stop Piracy, said: “The goal of Swiss legislation as regards counterfeits and piracy is to keep these goods out of the Swiss market. It is not to criminalise individual consumers who in some cases may not be aware they are in possession of counterfeit goods.”