Gloves & beanies to relieve winter cold for disadvantaged
11/03/2008

This winter more than 15 000 pairs of gloves and 650 beanies will be available for beneficiaries of the Tshwane Child Welfare, thanks to a donation from 3M Company.

Kelly Thompson, trade mark lawyer at Adams & Adams, says the gloves and beanies were counterfeit goods that were detained by the South African Revenue Service in Durban.

“The goods, bearing the Thinsulate trade mark of 3M Company, were seized and a high court order was then obtained against TKCY Trading who imported the counterfeit goods into the country.

“3M Company decided to donate the counterfeit goods to charity, on the condition that the counterfeit labels be removed and destroyed. Tshwane Child Welfare was prepared to do this.”

Mister Mover transported the gloves and beanies from Durban to Pretoria free of charge and Adams & Adams arranged and oversaw the process free of charge as well.

Thompson says this case augers well for the protection of intellectual property – in this case 3M’s Thinsulate brand.

“For consumers, a brand guarantees a certain standard and quality in the products that they purchase. For those who do not protect their rights, there is a real business risk. Counterfeiting and piracy have increased and while prosecution of counterfeiters and pirates has increased greatly, it is probably not by the same margin.

“Whilst South Africa has excellent laws to protect intellectual property, its enforcement record can still be improved. Without properly protected rights you are an easy target for counterfeiters,” says Thompson. “In this case, we were fortunately able not only to protect a valuable brand and prevent counterfeit goods from entering the market, but also to use the situation to the benefit of the disadvantaged”.

Loren Robson-Garth, Marketing and Communications Manager for Tshwane Child Welfare welcomed the donation that “Will relieve the plight of many children this winter. Donations like these enabled us to assist almost 34 000 children in various ways last year,” she says.