BNS Section 347: Counterfeiting a Property Mark

Definition of BNS Section 347

Section 347 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:

(1) Whoever counterfeits any property mark used by any other person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

(2) Whoever counterfeits any property mark used by a public servant, or any mark used by a public servant to denote that any property has been manufactured by a particular person or at a particular time or place, or that the property is of a particular quality or has passed through a particular office, or that it is entitled to any exemption, or uses as genuine any such mark knowing the same to be counterfeit, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 347

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of counterfeiting property mark. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

• Offence

  While section 345 deals with using a property mark without the permission of the owner for fraudulent purposes. And while Section 347 may seem to deal with a similar offence, it must be noted that this section deals specifically with only those cases where a person has not merely misappropriated the mark but has counterfeited the property mark for fraudulent or dishonest use. The section described the offence of counterfeiting a property mark by categorising into two separate subsections. Each subsection describes the crime of counterfeiting property mark under two different circumstances and conditions that constitute an offence under this section. Let us take a look.
  
  Subsection one (1) defines the offence as an act of counterfeiting a property mark that belongs to some other person. Counterfeiting does not apply in cases where the mark has been imitated to closely resemble the original mark. Counterfeiting involves replicating the original mark so that it can be used and presented as the original mark for purposes of fraud.
  
  Subsection (2) provides for the offence of counterfeiting a property mark that is used by a public servant in the course of his or her duty. In other words, it deals with counteffeiting a property mark used by the government for official purposes. This amounts to a slightly more serious crime than the one described in Subsection (1). Property mark is usually used by public servants to denote
  
  that any property has been manufactured by a particular person or at a particular time or place, or
  that the property is of a particular quality or has passed through a particular office, or
  that it is entitled to any exemption
  
  Counterfeiting the property mark used for the above purposes by a public servant shall be considered and offence under this section.
  
  It further clarifies that any person found knowingly using a counterfeit mark for any purpose shall be treated as if he has counterfeited that mark and be punished tantamount to that.

• Punishment

  Any person found guilty of counterfeiting a property mark owned by another person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
  
  Any person found guilty of counterfeiting or using a counterfeit mark that is meant for use by a public servant in the course of his or her duties shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine
  
  The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

  • The offender is forced or coerced into performing the offence
  • The offender is a minor or not of sane mind.

• However, there may be other sections under the BNS under which the above actions can be prosecuted and while they may be disqualified under the provisions of this section, such actions will still be punishable under the provisions of those respective sections of the BNS.

• Illustration

  A buys jewellery from D, a reputed jeweller. He uses the jewellery to counterfeit the property mark used by D on all his jewellery to denote the purity of the jewellery based on his reputation. D uses that counterfeit mark on fake jewellery to pass it off as jewellery designed and manufactured by D. A is an offender under the provisions of this section.

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