Police went into two shops in eMalahleni early last week and confiscated all the counterfeit products on the shelves.
On Tuesday, October 31 Counterfeit Investigator Stephan du Bruyn from Johannesburg and police members from Witbank Police Station planned an operation to get the counterfeit products off the shelves at two well known shops in eMalahleni.
The Naked make-up products that were confiscated by the police on Tuesday, October 31 from two shops in eMalahleni.
The police went into the shops with large plastic bags and started taking products off the shelves, such as Naked, Kylie, light bulbs, pens and various other products.
Kylie products that were taken off the shelves on Tuesday, October 31.
Three police vans filled to the brim with confiscated items were taken to the police station.
One of the main purposes of the Counterfeit Goods Act, 1997 (Act No. 37 of 1997) is to prevent the release of counterfeit goods into the local market of South Africa.
Police busy going through the shelves looking for counterfeit goods.
The following actions or goods are prohibited and will be included in ascertaining whether actions/goods are complying with the requirements contemplated in the Counterfeit Goods Act, 1997 or not: Being in possession of or having control over counterfeit goods for the purpose of dealing therein; manufacturing, producing or making of counterfeit goods, including the keeping, storing or packing thereof, other than for private and domestic use; counterfeit goods being exposed for sale or being sold, hired out, bartered or exchanged; counterfeit goods being exhibited in public for purposes of trade; counterfeit goods being distributed for trade or other purposes; counterfeit goods being imported into or through or exported from South Africa; or the act of dealing in counterfeit or suspected counterfeit goods.
‘Counterfeit goods’ are defined as goods that unlawfully bear or embody a trademark or copyright belonging to another without authorisation, or that have the appearance of another’s goods. To constitute counterfeiting, an act must infringe (or give rise to the infringement of) a trademark right, copyright or both.
Three police van’s full of counterfeit goods were taken from the two shops in eMalahleni.
In practice, counterfeit goods are imitations of goods embodying an IP right or goods bearing spurious marks, being infringing articles in respect of an IP right (i.e. the party that manufactures goods or applies the subject matter of an IP right to them, in so doing, infringes a copyright or trademark, or otherwise contravenes the Merchandise Marks Act).
The Counterfeit Goods Act does not extend to an unregistered trademark (unless the trademark is well known), common law rights or rights conferred by the Patents Act or the Designs Act.
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