The word counterfeit is often used in the context of trade
marks. How often do you hear someone say this: ‘I’m not
going to buy this suspiciously cheap ‘‘name”
product from this market trader, it’s clearly a counterfeit,
by buying it I’ll be encouraging illegal behaviour, something
that will not only give me sleepless nights but will also set a bad
example to my fellow South Africans, far better to pay a much
higher price for the real thing, thereby ensuring that the
multinational that manufactures it continues to make super profits,
pay massive executive bonuses, and keep all its poorly paid Asian
workers in employment’?
But what is a counterfeit? Is it an exact or near-exact
imitation of another product, or does it have a wider meaning? The
question’s important because we have in this country an act
called the Counterfeit Goods Act – a rather pernicious piece
of legislation that allows holders of IP rights to enlist the aid
of the authorities (the police, of
