Your (un)fair advantage

Commercial Crime Court in Johannesburg imposes heavy sentence on counterfeiter
8/08/2008

There has been an increase in the number of decisions emanating from our courts confirming the view that counterfeiting is a serious offence and that appropriate sentences will be implemented as a deterrent and punishment to people who deal in counterfeit goods.
A factory was recently discovered in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, manufacturing counterfeit caps. Thousands of caps and hundreds of tags and labels bearing the LACOSTE trade marks were seized. In addition, a large industrial embroidery machine that was being used to apply the infringing tags and labels to the caps was also seized.
Mr Hlongwei Tu was found guilty of dealing in counterfeit goods and was sentenced to a fine of R120 000.00 or 60 months imprisonment of which half the fine and term of imprisonment was suspended for 5 years provided he is not found guilty of dealing in any counterfeit goods in the suspended period.
This is by any measure a good sentence and will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others that counterfeiting is seen as a serious crime and that the authorities will be cracking down on all such crimes especially as we come closer to the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP.

Marilyn Krige
Partner
mk@adamsadams.co.za
  Featured Act Kinds of plants & periods of rights
The kind of plants protected, the period of plant breeders' rights and the period of sole rights.
Download act 		  Featured Case Law Recognition of a decision on restoration of priority under PCT in South Africa
In terms of the Paris Convention, a patent application may claim priority from a prior filed application in a convention country relating to the same subject matter, provided that the prior filed application in the convention country was lodged not earlier than one year before lodgement of the application claiming priority. In other words, there exists a 12 month period in which to claim priority. Rule 26bis.3 of the regulations of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes provision for the restoration of the right to claim priority if an international application has an international filing date which is later than the date on which the priority period expired but within the period of two months from that date. Upon request of the applicant, the receiving Office shall restore the right of priority if the Office finds that a criterion applied by it (“criterion for restoration”) is satisfied, namely, that the failure to file the international application within the priority period:
(i) occurred in spite of due care required by the circumstances having 		   

View programme


Login screen

The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.