[ 2016-08-14 ]

Police to enforce trademark laws fo fight counterfeiting
Crime officers say they are poised to enforce the
country’s trademark laws and crack down on
activities of counterfeiters.

Counterfeiting does not only deprive the country
of revenue of taxes but affects indigenous
businesses by posing unfair competition to local
products.

The police have not been successful in tackling
the phenomenon because of the lack of capacity.

But, Deputy Director-General of the Criminal
Investigations Department, ACP Dennis Abade says
the challenge is being addressed to effectively
deal with the menace.

He spoke to Joy Business at a seminar organized
by electronics firm, Sollatek.

"We have put the law to the test as enforcement
for the past 10 years has shown that there are
some bottlenecks, as a result, the law was amended
in 2014. These dynamics has changed with the
enforcing counterfeit laws in Ghana," he noted.

He explained that this is because it addressed
international registration of trademarks as well
as seized goods by law enforcers are handled
during investigations and prosecution.

"In the previous law Act 664, the goods can only
be disposed off, confiscated to the state or
forfeited to the state only after the trial. In
the new law once we begin investigatuins abd we
are prosecuting, we can apply to the court to give
us an order to destroy," he said.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

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