One Top Trend: The Rise of CASETIFY Brand
In this era where technology and fashion are closely linked, phone cases have long transcended their simple protective function and become fashionable items that showcase individuality and chase trends. The CASETIFY brand, with its innovative and unique design and frequent star effects, has firmly secured its position as the "top of the pyramid" in the mobile phone case market, and has even been dubbed the "Hermes of the mobile phone case world". Its regular style is priced in the range of 300-500 yuan, while co branded styles with well-known figures and popular IPs can be expensive, even up to tens of thousands of yuan. In the consumer market that pursues individual expression, CASETIFY is not just a brand, but also a trendy symbol and identity symbol, with its brand value constantly rising.
II Ping Tai Trap: The temptation of huge profits behind counterfeit phone cases
Faced with the high price of CASETIFY phone cases, some consumers have a sense of retreat and are beginning to search for so-called "replacement" products on some e-commerce platforms. Criminals have seized this gap in market demand, secretly laid out their plans, and prepared to make a big profit. Taking Chen Mou1 as an example, between 2022 and 2024, he used someone else's identity information to open an online store called "CASETIFY Korean Owner" on Pinduoduo. On the surface, this online store looks no different from many legitimate stores, even deliberately imitating the official style in product display and page design, and openly writing the words "CASETIFY" in product names. The promotional images are also directly copied from genuine products. However, in reality, the phone cases it sells are completely counterfeit and inferior from the source to the product quality.
From the perspective of purchasing costs, he purchased these counterfeit phone cases at a super low price of 13 yuan each, and then sold them to the outside world at a price of around 25 yuan. Compared to the starting price of over 300 yuan for genuine products, this "low price temptation" has a considerable appeal to some consumers who are unaware of the truth, especially those who want to save money and pursue the brand. Relying on this distorted "cost-effectiveness" advantage, Chen's online store business is exceptionally "hot", with illegal sales totaling more than 900000 yuan in just over two years.
III The restoration of the legal net: Counterfeiters will eventually taste the bitter fruit
As the saying goes, 'Don't stretch out your hand, you will be caught if you reach out.'. On November 9, 2024, Chen Mou1 was arrested in Shenzhen. After arriving at the scene, he truthfully confessed his criminal behavior, including the operation process of the online store, the channels for purchasing and selling goods, and various details such as brushing orders to create false prosperity. After the incident, Chen actively remedied with the assistance of his family and voluntarily compensated the trademark owner with 120000 yuan, obtaining their understanding. At the same time, during the trial stage of the case, he returned all illegal gains and prepaid the fine in advance.
After trial, the Changning District People's Court of Shanghai believes that Chen Mou1 knowingly sold counterfeit registered trademark goods and continued to engage in sales activities, with a huge sales amount and particularly serious circumstances. His behavior has constituted the crime of selling counterfeit registered trademark goods. However, considering Chen's good attitude towards confessing and actively implementing remedial measures such as compensation and refund after his arrival, the court sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended his sentence for three years, and fined him 20000 yuan in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. At the same time, the seized counterfeit goods and illegal gains were confiscated. After the first instance judgment, Chen did not file an appeal, and the judgment officially came into effect.
4 Legal Sword: The Significance and Value of Guarding Intellectual Property Rights
This "CASETIFY mobile phone case sales fraud case" has quickly caused waves in various sectors of society. It is not only a precise crackdown on illegal business activities, but also a warning to the vast number of operators and consumers, effectively demonstrating China's firm determination to strictly protect intellectual property rights and crack down on infringement and counterfeiting.
Five The alarm bell for business operators keeps ringing
Some practitioners like Chen, due to their weak legal awareness, are overly blinded by immediate interests and do not realize that selling counterfeit goods is crossing the high voltage line of the law. They mistakenly believe that as long as the price of counterfeit products is kept low enough, there will be a large number of consumers paying and they can easily make a lot of money. However, the law is never soft handed, and through this case, it is a sharp blow to those unscrupulous merchants who take shortcuts to make quick money through infringement. Article 214 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China has clear provisions on the crime of selling counterfeit registered trademarks. If the amount of illegal gains or sales reaches a certain level, severe penalties must be imposed. This once again reminds every business operator that only by operating honestly and in accordance with laws and regulations, and respecting the intellectual property rights of others, can they establish themselves in the market and achieve long-term development.
VI Consumers need to keep their eyes open
This case also has a strong warning effect. Many consumers are easily misled by low-priced "substitutes" when choosing products, ignoring the authenticity of the products. Little do they know that buying counterfeit phone cases not only makes them a part of the illegal industry chain and promotes bad habits, but also may face many hidden dangers in terms of their own interests. These counterfeit goods are often difficult to guarantee in terms of quality, and may have various problems such as color fading, harmful materials, and even safety hazards. Therefore, consumers should establish a correct consumption concept, enhance their awareness of intellectual property protection, prioritize purchasing goods through official and legitimate channels, carefully verify product information, and be cautious when dealing with low-priced "flat replacements" from unknown sources. Once counterfeit goods are discovered, it is important to promptly take legal action to protect one's rights and interests, file complaints and reports with relevant departments, and work together to create a healthy and favorable consumption environment.