On February 3, 2023, the owner of the Instagram account “Il Padrino” pleaded guilty to the Crime against Industrial Property Rights before a Guarantee Judge of the Criminal Accusatory Circuit System of Panama, who sentenced him to 40 months’ imprisonment, and imposed a fine of USD4,000.00. During the hearing, Moran IP, acting on behalf of one of the affected brand owner, requested to take down the Instagram account @ilpadrino_cashpty, which was ordered by the criminal judge.
Since the beginning of 2022, the Instagram account “Il Padrino” @ilpadrino_cashpty had been selling counterfeit goods from different brands. After 4 months of investigation to locate the owner of the account and his address and gather evidences of the crime, the Intellectual Property Prosecutor’s Office ordered a controlled purchase of products, where the owner of the IG account was arrested red-handed. Once the offender was arrested, a raid and search action was carried out at his residence, where more than 1,500 counterfeit products were seized. The sentence was given after 24 hours of the offender’s arrest. This guilty ruling represents a milestone in the fight against illicit online trade of counterfeit goods in Panama.
