Anti-counterfeiting

The Counterfeit Goods Act (“the CGA”) no. 37 of 1997 enables the owner of an “intellectual property right” or any other person with an interest in goods bearing or embodying such rights (“the protected goods”) to act speedily and effectively against persons involved in counterfeiting activity, both on a criminal and a civil basis. For the full text of the latest version of the CGA, please click here.

Intellectual property rights include:

• rights in a trade mark conferred by the Trade Marks Act no. 94 of 1993, including rights in respect of a well-known trade mark as contemplated in Section 35 of that Act.
• copyright in any work in terms of the Copyright Act no. 98 of 1978;
• the right of a person to use a specific mark included in a notice issued under Section 15 of the Merchandise Marks Act (for more information please click here), which other people are prohibited from using.

The term “interested persons”, for the purpose of laying a complaint in terms of the CGA, is defined as:

• the owners or licensees of trade marks or copyright works in protected goods;
• importers, exporters or distributors of protected goods;
• the duly authorised agent, representative or attorney of the abovementioned persons.

Counterfeit goods are defined as goods:

• which are manufactured, in the Republic or elsewhere, without the authority of the owner of an intellectual property right subsisting in protected goods in the Republic, where the protected goods are imitated to such an extent that the manufactured goods are substantially identical copies of the protected goods;
• to which a trade mark or the subject of copyright which subsists in respect of protected goods in the Republic or a colourable imitation thereof is applied, so that confusion is caused or causing confusion between the manufactured goods and the protected goods;
• to which a prohibited mark (in terms of the Merchandise Marks Act), has been applied without authority.