- Trade mark infringements cost printer thousands
- Profits from illegal sales ordered to be paid back
- Enfield Council’s trading standards team prosecutes man after investigating illegal online sales
A printer has been ordered to pay £73,260 by judges at Wood Green Crown Court after admitting trade mark infringements.
Cagdas Top, 37, of Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey, the owner of Funtastic Print in Enfield was prosecuted by Enfield Council’s Legal Services Team after Trading Standards officers found he was using an eBay account to operate a sideline in which he was illegally printing and distributing clothing with protected brands and logos on them.
He pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on 17 November 2016 to an offence under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and on 21 April he was fined £15,000, ordered to repay £50,000 received as a result of illegal sales under the proceeds of crime act and told to pay costs of £8,260.
During an investigation, which began in February 2015, Top was found to be selling goods such as t-shirts and hoody tops on which protected logos had been printed including those for One Direction, Nirvana, The Minions, Superman, and the wrestling franchise “WWE”.
He was sent a letter warning him to stop selling the items, but he chose to ignore it. Trading Standards therefore carried out a test purchase for which he was then prosecuted.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Daniel Anderson, said: “Enfield Council wants to create an environment where businesses can survive, grow and flourish, but we can’t do that if some companies in the Borough don’t play by the rules.
“Mr Top fair was given fair warning that what he was doing was illegal and had ample opportunity to fall into line. Instead, he chose to ignore our advice and broke the law.
“We want Enfield to be a place where honest hardworking and law-abiding businesses can flourish, but, by the same token, simply won’t tolerate businesses who think it is OK to break the law in search of a quick buck.
“Make no mistake, we will always investigate and prosecute any business where we find illegal activity.”
