Safe online purchases
Before an online purchase, please check whether the product has been assessed as safe in the EU and in Finland. Never order a counterfeit product.
Product safety
If you make on online purchase from a non-EU country, the product does not necessarily comply with the product safety regulations in force in the EU and Finland. The safety performance of the product may significantly deviate from the product safety regulations in force in the EU, as the manufacturer of the product may not have intended the product to be sold in the EU. Products sold online may also include products that have been withdrawn from the market somewhere in the world due to their dangerousness. Read more about product safety on the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency’s (Tukes) website.
Before the purchase, please check OECD’s portal on product recalls to establish whether the product has been withdrawn from the market somewhere in the world due to safety concerns. You can also check the Market supervision register of the Finnish Chemicals and Safety Agency (in Finnish) for possible sales limitations concerning the product in Finland.
Consumer rights may differ between EU countries. Consumer rights in countries outside the EU can be different from the rights of Finnish consumers. Product safety requirements also vary, as the legal protection of consumers in the EU and in Finland is different from the protection in, for example, Asian countries.
Counterfeit products
A counterfeit product is a product that infringes on the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the original product. The concept of pirated products encompasses, among others, movie and music recordings, in which material protected by copyright has been reproduced without permission.
The importation of counterfeit products for commercial purposes is prohibited. The EU Court of Justice has ruled that online purchases made by private individuals also comprise commercial activity.
If Customs suspects that the product you have ordered online is a counterfeit product, the import of your purchase may be stopped. The maximum penalty for an intellectual property offence is two years’ imprisonment.
Customs controls that the goods entering, exiting and being transited through Finland are not counterfeit goods or other products infringing on the intellectual property rights. The controls aim to protect the state’s tax revenue, the citizens and society from harmful products and the economic interests of the original right holder.
Concepts related to counterfreit products
- Trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods and services manufactured or produced by a company similar goods and services of other companies.
- Design right protects the appearance of the goods or part thereof. The object of the protection is always a concrete item or part thereof and is always perceived visually.
- Patent is an exclusive right granted to the inventor for using the invention for professional purposes.
- Pirated copy is a product involving an unlicensed copy of someone else’s copyrighted product.
- Counterfeit product is a product involving the unlicensed incorporation of a trademark belonging to another party or a copy of such a trademark, or a product that illicitly simulates the appearance of another product which is protected under design right.
- Infringing product: A product may infringe on intellectual property rights without being a counterfeit product.
