Brands – Registration, Anti-Counterfeiting And Online Issues

Published in MIP – Brand Management Focus May 2009

I. PROLOGUE

Perfidious imitation of a brand by traders to sell their own products and services, generally understood as counterfeiting or piracy, can have a detrimental and even serious effect on not only the profitability of a company but also to public health and safety. Pirated or counterfeit products, which more often than not are substandard, effect the goodwill and reputation of rights holders, expose consumers to safety and health hazards and have a deleterious impact on Government revenues.

Acts of counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property rights are witnessing a robust growth the world over, via criminal networks and organized crime and it is estimated that international trade in counterfeit and pirated products could have been excess of US$ 200 billion in the year 2005 alone. It is pertinent to note that this estimated figure is larger than the national Gross Domestic Product of over a hundred