New Zealand seizes 43,000 fake goods in 2014

More than 43,000 fake branded items were seized at New Zealand's border in more than 400 interceptions in 2014, but they were getting harder to spot, the New Zealand Customs Service said Thursday.

Customs manager Jonathan Morten said one shipment alone at the end of last year had more than 14,000 goods ranging from counterfeit children's watches, hats and walkie-talkies to dolls and toys, all of which was forfeited by the importer.

"Counterfeiters rapidly churn out fakes to keep up with market trends and it's getting harder to tell them from the real deal," Morten said in a statement.

"Customs' role is to intercept any suspected counterfeit goods and report it to the rights holder for action. We do this for about 300 intellectual property rights holders so far, and we would encourage others to lodge protection notices with Customs."

Clothes and clothing accessories were the most common fake items, with more than 230 interceptions of almost 14,000 sports- branded hats, vests, tee-shirts, and themed clothes, and more than 2,200 pairs of shoes were seized.

Electronic goods such as smart phones, phone accessories, and branded headphones and speakers were the second most common with more than 70 interceptions of more than 7,200 electronic products last year.

Close to 800 pieces of furniture and household items, and almost 500 cosmetics and perfumes, 4,500 flags, 100 sporting helmets and 98 car air fresheners were also intercepted.

Under New Zealand's Trade Marks Act, anyone convicted of counterfeiting a registered trademark or importing or selling goods with a falsely applied registered trade mark could face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 150,000 NZ dollars (116, 868 U.S. dollars). Endi