OSLO, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- So far this year Norwegian customs have taken and destroyed over 60,000 counterfeit goods worth of more than 11 million kroner (1.35 million U.S. dollars), public broadcaster NRK reported Saturday.
The report wrote about a woman from Norway who bought copies of three handbags and three wallets of luxury brand Louis Vuitton and received the goods in Norway from Dubai.
However, the pirated goods were stopped by the Gardermoen airport customs in Oslo in April and Oslo District Court ruled out that the woman must pay the replacement of original goods of 20,000 kroner as well as 18,750 kroner for legal expenses to the company Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A for trademark infringement.
The original bags and wallets, according to Louis Vuitton, cost around 40,000 kroner, NRK reported.
Although it is legal to purchase fake goods in Norway as long as they are for personal rules, the woman's story that the items are bought for her daughters and their friend was rejected as fake as well.
The judgment from Oslo court is not enforceable yet, as the appeal deadline has not yet expired.
Last year, 42,538 false goods were destroyed, worth just over 13 million kroner.
Elisabeth C. Nettum, Senior Consultant of Norwegian Customs, said that increase in the number of destroyed goods this year can be explained by a doubling in the seizure of pirated parts for mobile phones.
Otto Scharff, director of Market and Information Department at the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO), said revenue from selling pirated goods can be used to fund criminal activities, such as support for terrorist organizations.
"There are examples in Europe where some people have received fines for up to 10,000 euros, just because they were in possession of a privately-copied item," said Scharff. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.14 kroner)
