Opticians request

By Pittaluga Abogados

The Antipiracy Chamber and the Uruguay Opticians Union asked the government to act with more conviction against the piracy of eyeglasses and sunglasses, counterfeited products that can be easily find and purchased in the public road. Uruguayan newspaper El País states that both institutions have made over sixty complaints in the last month. In these cases, uruguayan authorities can proceed after an official claim, but they cannot act by their own. Many of the products are counterfeited international well-known brands, which obviously infringe trademarks and misguide consumers.

The Public Health Ministry enables the sale of eyeglasses and sunglasses on the public road because they challenge its health policies. Specialists from the Uruguay Opticians Union claimed that the counterfeited products may cause important health problems to consumers, such as cataracts.

Uruguayan law sets penances from six months to ten years of prison to those who commercialize dangerous, counterfeited, adulterated or denatured products that put health at risk.