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IP crime & counterfeit goods

Intellectual Property Crime & Counterfeit Goods

Criminal defence and right-holder representation involving trademarks, international brands, counterfeit goods and packaging, copyright piracy, falsified products and border measures in Georgia.

English legal guideTbilisi · Georgia-wide
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Criminal defence and right-holder representation involving trademarks, international brands, counterfeit goods and packaging, copyright piracy, falsified products and border measures in Georgia.

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Use this section by event, accusation or role

Criminal-law guidance for alleged trademark misuse, counterfeit goods and packaging, copyright piracy, falsified products, border detention and cross-border brand-enforcement cases in Georgia.

Investigators or customs identify goods, packaging, labels or digital sales that may use another right holder's designation, while authenticity, knowledge, quantity, value, commercial circulation and each participant's role remain disputed. The correct legal route depends on the documents, the participant's procedural status, the investigating authority and the current stage—not simply the label attached to the accusation.

Our organising principles

01

Separate criminal allegations from civil infringement and customs procedures

02

Identify the protected right, accused conduct, knowledge, quantity and alleged damage

03

Preserve authentic comparison material, samples and supply-chain records

04

Distinguish manufacturer, importer, distributor, retailer, platform and brand-owner roles

Legal route map

Counterfeit goods can trigger several distinct procedures

The same shipment, shop, warehouse or online listing may create trademark, customs, civil, consumer-safety and criminal questions. The correct response begins by identifying the protected right and the exact legal route—not by treating the word “counterfeit” as a concluded criminal finding.

01

Criminal route

Article 196 addresses specified unlawful use or manufacture of another person's trademark or related designation and goods illegally marked and introduced into civil circulation. The current provision contains scale or damage elements and aggravated forms.

02

Border route

Georgia's border-measures law allows defined customs action concerning suspected counterfeit or pirated goods. Suspension, inspection, release or destruction procedures do not by themselves establish criminal guilt.

03

Civil and administrative routes

A right holder may have injunction, damages, removal, regulatory or other remedies even when criminal elements are absent. Each route has its own standing, proof and deadlines.

Article 196 is not a catch-all for every IP dispute.

Its elements must be proved under the current Criminal Code. A civil infringement, customs suspension or brand-owner assertion may be important evidence, but none is automatically a conviction. Conversely, the absence of a criminal case does not eliminate other remedies.

Six questions that organise the case

01

Protected right

Confirm the Georgian registration or other legally protected right, the owner or licensee, relevant goods or services and territorial scope.

02

Object and conduct

Identify the goods, packaging, labels, digital files or commercial designation and the alleged manufacture, use, import, storage, supply or sale.

03

Scale and damage

Article 196 currently treats illegal manufacture as large where the total exceeds 1,000 units and considerable damage where the cost of illegally marked goods manufactured or put into civil circulation exceeds GEL 5,000. The current consolidated text and valuation method must be checked.

04

Knowledge and role

Separate the positions of manufacturer, importer, distributor, retailer, marketplace account holder, employee and company management. Possession or job title alone does not answer every element.

05

Authenticity and chain of custody

Use reliable genuine comparators, representative samples, photographs and technical features. Record seizure, seals, transfers, storage and testing so an authenticity opinion can be evaluated.

06

Parallel product issues

Falsified composition, dangerous products, false documents, tax or customs markings and copyright piracy may engage different provisions; they should not be described automatically as trademark counterfeiting.

For international brands

Foreign ownership, international reputation and cross-border supply chains may be highly relevant, but Georgian proceedings still require proof of the right protected in Georgia, reliable authentication, the domestic conduct alleged and the role of each participant. Overseas brand-protection material should be translated, sourced and capable of being tested.

Georgian Criminal Code — explained

Articles readers often encounter in this area

Use these Criminal Code articles as research entry points. Open the full CriminalLawyers.ge guide first for context, evidence issues and defence or victim-side analysis; the official consolidated Georgian Criminal Code and PDF route are linked at the end of each guide.

Article 196

Unlawful use of a trade or service mark

Not every infringement is criminal: the protected right, accused use, repetition or substantial damage and each participant's knowledge must be assessed.

Read full guide →Article 197¹

Illegal transportation or sale of forged goods

Requires proof that the goods were forged, that the accused transported or sold them and that the person knew their character.

Read full guide →Article 362

Making, sale or use of a forged official document

The original document, method of alteration, intended use, knowledge and the role of the person who made or used it require separate proof.

Read full guide →Article 214

Breach of rules for moving goods across the customs border

The declaration, goods, route, value, knowledge and criminal threshold must be distinguished from an administrative customs breach.

Read full guide →Article 189

Encroachment upon copyright, related rights or database rights

Copyright and related-rights offences have their own protected-right, conduct and income tests and should not be treated as trademark counterfeiting.

Read full guide →Article 198

Hazardous products

May apply to manufacture, import or sale of products hazardous to life or health, or unlawful labelling; representative testing and supply-chain role are central.

Read full guide →
No automatic classification

Article references are not predictions of guilt or final legal advice. Investigators may open a case under one provision and prosecutors, defence counsel or the court may later support a different classification. Always verify the current Georgian text, the relevant article part and the complete case file.

Complete topic directory

Explore Intellectual Property Crime & Counterfeit Goods

Every guide connects practical action, Georgian procedure, evidence and related primary sources. The directory is intentionally deeper than a list of Criminal Code provisions.

01

Criminal Trademark Infringement

Not every unauthorised trademark use is a crime. Article 196 requires its own conduct, scale or damage elements, while civil infringement and border measures follow distinct legal tests.

Open guide →02

Counterfeit Goods and Forged Products

A counterfeit-goods investigation should identify who made, imported, stored, supplied or sold the goods and test authenticity, knowledge, quantity, value, markings and chain of custody separately.

Open guide →03

International Brand Counterfeiting in Georgia

International brands may be protected through Georgian trademark, customs, civil and criminal mechanisms, but overseas ownership or fame does not remove the need to prove the applicable Georgian right and alleged offence.

Open guide →04

Counterfeit Packaging, Labels and Warranty Documents

Counterfeit packaging, labels, stickers, brochures, instructions and warranty documents may be legally significant even when presented separately from the goods; each item's origin, use and connection to a protected mark must be proved.

Open guide →05

Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods

Customs suspension under Georgia's border-measures legislation is not itself a criminal conviction. The right holder, declarant, importer and authorities may then follow distinct verification, release, destruction, civil or criminal routes.

Open guide →06

Importer, Distributor and Retailer Defence

An importer, distributor or retailer is not automatically treated as the manufacturer. Defence should reconstruct the supply chain, documents, knowledge, control, quantities, onward sales and response after authenticity concerns arose.

Open guide →07

Online Marketplace and Social Media Sales

Online listings, direct messages, platform records, delivery data and payments may help identify commercial circulation, attribution and scale, but a profile or device artefact does not by itself establish authorship or criminal intent.

Open guide →08

Brand-Owner Complaints and Victim Representation

A right holder considering a criminal complaint should verify the Georgian right, preserve authentic samples and suspected goods, explain identification features, document loss and avoid presenting a civil dispute as a proved crime.

Open guide →09

Copyright Piracy and Digital Content

Copyright and related-rights allegations fall under a framework different from trademark counterfeiting. Authorship, ownership, licence scope, reproduction, distribution, income, platform and digital-evidence questions require separate analysis.

Open guide →10

Falsified and Dangerous Products

A falsely branded product may also raise product-falsification or safety allegations where its composition, quality, labelling or danger is disputed. Trademark, consumer, regulatory and criminal questions should not be collapsed into one conclusion.

Open guide →11

Authentication, Samples and Expert Evidence

Authentication evidence should identify reliable genuine comparators, preserve representative samples and packaging, document every transfer and explain the technical basis for any opinion rather than relying on an unsupported assertion that goods are fake.

Open guide →
Continue your research

Related guidance

IP crime & counterfeit goods

Criminal Trademark Infringement

Not every unauthorised trademark use is a crime. Article 196 requires its own conduct, scale or damage elements, while civil infringement and border measures follow distinct legal tests.

Read guide →IP crime & counterfeit goods

Counterfeit Goods and Forged Products

A counterfeit-goods investigation should identify who made, imported, stored, supplied or sold the goods and test authenticity, knowledge, quantity, value, markings and chain of custody separately.

Read guide →IP crime & counterfeit goods

International Brand Counterfeiting in Georgia

International brands may be protected through Georgian trademark, customs, civil and criminal mechanisms, but overseas ownership or fame does not remove the need to prove the applicable Georgian right and alleged offence.

Read guide →IP crime & counterfeit goods

Counterfeit Packaging, Labels and Warranty Documents

Counterfeit packaging, labels, stickers, brochures, instructions and warranty documents may be legally significant even when presented separately from the goods; each item's origin, use and connection to a protected mark must be proved.

Read guide →
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