The Ministry of Industry and Trade has accused one of the leading online stores in Russia, Wildberries, of selling counterfeit products. This was stated by Vladislav Zaslavsky, Director of the Department for the Digital Marking of Goods and Legalization of the Turnover of Products of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, whose words are quoted by TASS.
The official admitted that a lot of illegal products are now going through Russian marketplaces, while Wildberries, according to him, has already expressed its willingness to cooperate. The company proposed to create automatic algorithms that detect the use of other people's trademarks, as well as conduct continuous online monitoring of the site's products.
“Today this company is really becoming a counterfeit distribution channel. We call specifically on this platform for dialogue. Wildberries, at least, expresses its readiness for this dialogue and for creating an automated system based on its company in order to prevent possible sales of counterfeit and counterfeit products through its platform, ”the official said during a round table of the New People faction. on the topic "Parallel imports: how to protect citizens from counterfeiting and falsification" in the State Duma.
According to Zaslavsky, the department is already recording sales of prescription drugs and dietary supplements on the sites, but a much larger number of cases are counterfeit shoes. Similar claims caused by parallel imports were previously put forward by the agency to another market leader, the Ozon marketplace. The official also admits that the rise in counterfeit products in the Russian market is due to government actions that have canceled business inspections due to the massive spread of parallel imports.
“In the current situation, when the state has taken quite serious decisions to impose a moratorium on inspections, to introduce parallel imports, we expect that conscientious Internet sites in modern conditions should take retaliatory measures on their part to prevent trade in counterfeit counterfeit products on their sites. ", – said Zaslavsky.
After the mass exodus of foreign brands from the Russian market, marketplaces switched to lesser-known brands, or even outright fakes of popular brands. On the Wildberries website, you can still buy fake New Balance sneakers – for 7650 rubles, the buyer will get sneakers from New Biance. The excess of low-quality products and unfamiliar brands on the Russian market is caused by sanctions and the government's rate on parallel imports, which officially allows the import of goods from foreign manufacturers without their licensed permission.
Depending on the jurisdiction and local legislation, parallel imports can be equated with smuggling or “grey imports” – i.e. products with dubious legal status. Importing such products in many countries is a violation of customs laws and rules for the use of trademarks, brands and licenses. The Russian authorities approved parallel imports in order to prevent shortages of consumer goods in the domestic market.
