IPOH: An owner of a gadget company was fined RM40,000 by the Sessions Court here on Thursday after pleading guilty to possessing 529 Oppo smartphones bearing counterfeit trademarks last February.
Judge Ainul Sharin Mohamad imposed the fine on the accused, Wong Soon Yaw, 37, owner of M One Gadget, and ordered a 12-month jail sentence if he failed to pay.
Wong, who was unrepresented, paid the fine.
According to the charge, the accused was found in possession of 529 Oppo smartphones of various models and colours, bearing registered trademarks belonging to Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd, including the ‘Oppo’ trademark and other related trademarks, which had been falsely applied to the goods at his company’s premises in Jalan Besar Gunung Rapat at 12.25 pm on Feb 5.
The charge was framed under Section 102(1)(c) of the Trademarks Act 2019 (Act 815), and is punishable under Section 102(1)(c)(ii) of the same Act, which provides for a maximum fine of RM10,000 for each item or imprisonment for up to three years, or both, for a first offence.
For a second or subsequent offence, the provision carries a maximum fine of RM20,000 for each item or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
The court also ordered all the phones seized as exhibits to be returned to the government for disposal through the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN).
According to the facts of the case, KPDN inspected the premises on Feb 5 following a complaint regarding the use of the Oppo trademark.
The inspection found that the premises stored 529 smartphones of various models bearing the Oppo brand, which were suspected of falsely using a registered trademark.
An investigation by KPDN together with a representative of the trademark owner subsequently confirmed that the smartphones were counterfeit goods.