Keep invoices and supplier records for every purchase batch; skip goods priced far below market—if staff buy counterfeits for the company, the owner can still be the one convicted

Selling counterfeits: illegal gains of 30000 yuan, or sales of 50000 yuan, meets the criminal threshold—up to 3 years. Unsold warehouse stock counts if goods value reaches three times the sales threshold. «I didn't know it was fake» is not yours alone to decide: buying far below market without a good explanation supports knowledge. Keeping purchase contract, invoice, payment trail, and upstream identity is the path to the no-damages defense.

Cost

No money. For each batch keep purchase contract, invoice, payment record, and the upstream party's business license and authorization. Set an internal rule: whoever buys signs; never accept prices clearly below market. The hard part is passing up cheap stock that looks profitable.

Benefit

Knowingly selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks: illegal gains of 30000 yuan meets the criminal threshold; sales of 50000 yuan likewise. Up to 3 years plus a fine, or a fine alone. At ten times those levels: 3–10 years plus fine. Unsold stock still counts: goods value at three times the sales threshold or more is also a crime. «Knowing» need not be admitted. A 2025 SPC and SPP interpretation lists five situations where knowledge is presumed unless you prove otherwise: (1) knowing the registered trademark on the goods was altered, swapped, or covered; (2) forging or altering the trademark owner's authorization, or knowing it was forged or altered; (3) prior criminal or administrative penalty for selling counterfeits, then selling the same kind again; (4) no reasonable grounds, buying or selling far below market; (5) after discovery by administrative or judicial authorities, moving or destroying infringing goods and accounting records, or providing false proof. When a company commits this offense, «the unit is fined, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible persons» are punished under the same article—so even if staff sourced the goods, the person who approved still faces judgment. Trademark law leaves an out: selling without knowing the goods infringe another's registered trademark, «if you can prove lawful acquisition and identify the provider, you bear no compensation liability». Whether that defense works depends entirely on invoices and upstream identity; without them you can't use it (nationwide; interpretation effective 26 April 2025).

Notes

Cosmetics, liquor, baby goods, electronics, and apparel see many of these cases—large price spreads on the same SKU. «Channel stock», «end-of-line», and «overseas duty-free» do not replace paperwork. Beyond criminal liability there is administrative penalty: infringing goods and tools confiscated; illegal turnover of 50000 yuan or more can draw a fine of up to 5 times turnover. If stock already bought turns out wrong, stop selling, seal it, and contact the brand or market regulators—don't keep selling, and don't destroy goods and books; destruction fits presumption (5) above. Artwork rules: item 21. One scam targets this item: someone offers free pens or other small goods to sell in your shop for a split; days later a buyer takes them and documents the sale for an infringement claim. Free goods lack all three conditions for the no-damages defense: no purchase contract or payment record, no real provider you can name, and a clearly abnormal price. «Lawful acquisition and identify the provider» can't apply. So door-to-door free stock with only a WeChat contact stays off the shelf. Real consignment needs a written agreement, copies of ID and business license, and who owns the goods and who bears infringement written in.

Sources · 3

1. 全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第十七、二十四项，即刑法第二百一十四、二百二十条）. spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml
2. 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2025). 关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2025〕5 号，2025 年 4 月 26 日起施行）. spp.gov.cn/xwfbh/wsfbt/202504/t20250424_69397…
3. 全国人大常委会 (2019). 商标法（2019 年修正，第五十七、六十四条；2026 年 6 月 26 日修订后为第七十二、七十八条，自 2027 年 1 月 1 日起施行）. cnipa.gov.cn/art/2019/7/30/art_95_28179.html、cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/6/26/art_95_206942.html