Counterfeiting in South Africa

Counterfeiting of goods involves not only the infringement of intellectual property rights per se, but also the dealing in the same type of goods as those of the proprietor, or his licensee, of the intellectual property right in question. The Counterfeit Goods Act (" the Act") creates both criminal and civil remedies and procedures in order to protect against counterfeiting. The Act is supplementary to existing remedies available to copyright and other intellectual property right owners for protecting and enforcing their rights. The Act makes possible taking prompt and effective action to limit the dealing in counterfeit goods with a minimum of formalities and reduce as far as possible the potential liability of the police or other inspectors in seizing counterfeit goods. Responsibility for the action of seizing and detaining goods is placed squarely on the complainant.