Counterfeit

The working legal definition comes from the WTO TRIPS Agreement. In the text set out in the WTO's own Analytical Index, the footnote to Article 51 defines counterfeit trademark goods as goods bearing "without authorization a trademark which is identical to the trademark validly registered" in respect of such goods, or a mark not distinguishable from it in essential aspects, thereby infringing the owner's rights under the law of the country of importation. The WTO's overview of TRIPS enforcement is shorter still: counterfeit trademark goods are "Goods involving slavish copying of trademarks", as against pirated copyright goods, "Goods which violate a reproduction right under copyright or a related right".

The definition matters because it triggers border machinery. Article 51 requires Members to "adopt procedures to enable a right holder ... to lodge an application in writing ... for the suspension by the customs authorities of the release into free circulation" of such goods, and customs must be able to detain them and to order "destruction or disposal outside the channels of commerce of infringing goods". The World Customs Organization states that "The role of Customs in combating counterfeiting is very important to prevent unfair competition and guarantee equal market access to all business actors."

For watches, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH publishes the industry's own figures and legal position. FH states that "Tens of millions of fake Swiss watches are offered for sale every year, while the Swiss watch industry produces around 30 million original watches" (both figures are FH's own) and records that "In Switzerland, as in many other countries, importing a counterfeit watch is forbidden by law, even in the case of one-off pieces bought in good faith for private use."

What this entry does not do: describe how counterfeits are made or how they may be told apart from genuine watches. It records the legal definition and the enforcement framework, and stops there.