November 2017. Very occasionally, a trademark infringement isn’t dealt with under civil law but is subject instead to criminal proceedings. That was the case at the end of October 2017 when a man from the Dutch town of Haaksbergen was given a three-month suspended sentence and 180 hours’ community service for importing fake bicycle parts.

Counterfeit wheel rims

The imports in question were counterfeit wheel rims, bicycles, frames and seat-posts claiming to be made by FFWD Fast Forward, Dura Ace and Pinarello. As well as being fake, they were also of poor quality.