August 27, 2012 
Lavender, olive oil, replicas of our famous buildings – foreign tourists find these completely uninteresting. What they’re interested in are practical and cheap fakes; sunglasses being the most profitable so they are offered even in souvenir shops…
Even though this is not allowed by law in Croatia, counterfeit sunglasses are bought and sold at full throttle. Most popular are Ray-Ban sunglasses. These are actually regular sunglasses with a forged sign of this famous brand.
Counterfeit goods are marked with an unauthorized foreign trademark that usually imitates the original product. So at first glance it leaves an impression of a genuine product. Putting counterfeit goods into circulation violates the provisions of the Trademark Act. The police say that despite the measures taken, forgeries can always be found. They are easiest to identify by a much lower price than they should have. On the basis of the offense of violation of industrial property and unauthorized use of another company, the penalty goes up to five years in prison. But nevertheless, fakes are bought and sold.
Locals and foreign guests buy fakes
One saleswoman at a stand, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Deutsche Welle that the selling of such glasses is going well. The sale is great because everybody buys – both teenagers and their parents. Buying sunglasses and paying them 1000 KN is out of question, but having a famous trademark on them is very appealing.
Both domestic and foreign tourists buy fakes. While the price of the original Ray-Ban sunglasses is between 600 and 700 KN and higher, it is enough to pay 100 KN for the similar forged version. Such sunglasses can be found at stands, and the difference is almost nonexistent. Glasses are made in China.
Owners of the stands confirm that lately control inspections and police were going around Zadar, so the sale of forgeries lowered, but statistics show otherwise. Dealers who have purchased these sunglasses have to sell them somewhere, so the risky game continues.
Who fears the police?
As for the acquisition of counterfeit sunglasses, an experienced holder of a stand in Zadar says that the work is seamlessly carried over wholesale. It is interesting that the Zadar police have none reported seizures in wholesale. The owner of the stand reckons that the wholesale seizure would be more effective than seizing the stands.
Thus, to those who sell sunglasses without signatures, popular sellers of counterfeit sunglasses are a competition and a threat to their business. When it comes to choosing between counterfeit sunglasses for 100 KN and those without a signature for 70-odd KN, the customers generally prefer to choose the popular brand. In this way, those who do not sell counterfeit sunglasses get an unfair competition. So in the eyes of honest stand owners it turns out that counterfeiters do better. They normally pay 50 KN for the purchase of counterfeit sunglasses.
Taken from: www.net.hr