Hong Kong Customs officers have carried out an operation targeting trademark-infringing foldable bicycles sold in shops and auctioned on the Internet.

After extensive investigation based on information provided by an unnamed copyright and trademark owner, officers of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau say they raided eight shops located in Mong Kok, Cheung Sha Wan, Tai Po, Ma On Shan and Fanling. They seized 29 trademark-infringing foldable bicycles worth HK$66,700 and arrested nine men and a woman, aged between 41 and 60. Of the arrested persons, nine were shop owners and one was a shop attendant.

Officers of the Anti-Internet Piracy Team suspected that there were infringing foldable bicycles auctioned on a local auction website.

With the assistance of an Internet service provider, Customs officers located the computer involved. Subsequently, they arrested two men, both aged 31, in Mong Kok. All the arrested persons are on bail pending further investigations.

The Divisional Commander of the Copyright Investigation Division, Koon Hon-chuen, has reminded shop owners to stay away from commodities of dubious sources when they were sourcing goods for their shops. Under the Copyright Ordinance in Hong Kong, anyone who knowingly possesses an infringing copy of a copyright work in the course of business commits a criminal offense. The maximum penalty is a fine of HK$50,000 per article and imprisonment for four years.