Manhattan councilwoman Margaret Chin is pushing for a bill that will make it illegal for buyers to buy counterfeit merchandise. Chin had tried to pass the legislation back in 2011 but was stalled and is now trying to revive the legislation. Her law would make it a misdemeanor to buy fakes fining buyers up to $1,000 for purchasing fakes and imprisonment for up to one year.
It is already a federal crime to sell counterfeit merchandise under U.S. trademark law known as the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C § 1051), which prohibits trademark infringment and dilution. The Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 ("TCA") (18 U.S.C.§ 2320) strengthened the laws against counterfeiting by making it a federal offense to violate the Lanham Act. The TCA made it illegal for any person to intentionally or attempt to traffic goods or services and knowingly use a counterfeit trademark when trafficking those goods or services. Trafficking include selling or transferring for money. Violations of the TCA includes penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for an individual or $1 million in fines for an entity. There are also civil remedies available to a trademark owner.
