Counterfeit HP, Canon Products Seized in India

Hewlett-Packard (HP) India has helped the police arrest an e-commerce vendor who has sold counterfeit HP and Canon toners and cartridges. The fake products were valued at Rs$ 30,0000 (US$4,790.4), violating Sections 51 and 63 of the Copyrights Act, as revealed by mumbaimirror.com.

The police claim several customers started complaining about the fake products to HP and then contacted the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (EIPR), a private agency that helps brands investigate cases of copyright infringement. It’s the second similar case after the first one occurred in December 2014, alerting e-business owners to be careful when choosing vendors.

Chetan Dinesh Gada, the arrested owner of Jalaram Computech in Lamington Road, is an authorized seller for e-commerce shop Snapdeal, which is one of India’s largest e-commerce marketplace. Reporters commented that the high cost of original ink cartridges and toners is one of the reasons causing counterfeit products to be offered.

Further, MumbaiMirror found Jalaram Computech was still listed as one of the vendors of Snapdeal for HP’s 12A black toner cartridge. “In case of any violations, upon being adequately notified, Snapdeal takes down such listings in accordance with the rules and policies,” noted a spokesperson from Snapsteal. “We also work with various brands to delist any sellers from our platform who have been credibly identified by such brands as selling fake products.”

It’s believed that the case indicates the growing online shopping market in India, where e-commerce sites are forced to spread their vendor base to cater to the growing demand as they seek to expand rapidly. Morgan Stanley, an international financial services corporation in India, expects India’s e-commerce revenues to grow from Rs$2.9 billion in 2013 to over Rs$100 billion by 2020, making it the world’s fastest growing market.

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