Publicité
Manager of Legal and business facilitation division, Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Par
Partager cet article
Manager of Legal and business facilitation division, Chamber of Commerce and Industry
<B>Barlen PILLAY</B>
Has the joint workshop of the CCI and the French embassy been successful? Did you find THE solution to eradicate counterfeiting?</B>
Yes indeed it was a very successful event in terms of: participation: more than 155 participants; the quality of resource persons/experts; the presentations; the themes; the quality of the discussions during round table sessions; the media coverage. And finally the objectives to create awareness of our members: public authorities (customs, police force) and various institutions… I do not believe, however, there is a solution as such to eradicate counterfeiting. We can diminish its volume and effects by working with all parties - public and private sector authorities, media, consumers as well as regional and international counterparts. One of the direct results of the workshop will be a task force to examine the conditions and possibilities of creating an ‘association of trademark owners’.
<B>Is the problem local or a worldwide scourge?</B>
No, it is not a Mauritian ‘invention’. Trademark counterfeiting is a global plague and some countries have made an industry of it. We at the CCI are convinced that we will not attract high-calibre investors in industry (textile…) and ICT if we do not address forcefully the counterfeiting issue. We must say it bluntly that our competitive advantage does not lie in privileged market access or treatment but in our ability to create and innovate with genuine products, services; To achieve this, we need a real mind shift…
What does this problem cost to the country? What are the products affected?</B>
This figure is difficult to evaluate. But it costs us a lot in terms of image and business opportunities. The products that suffer most are: textiles, consumer goods (toys, shoes); spare parts for vehicles; medicines.
If consumers stopped buying such products, the manufacturers would stop production... Could the solution be consumer education ?</B>
Yes, but these manufacturers should try to create new products, brands... The Association of Mauritian Manufacturers has created a sort of collective brand, which is interesting in terms of market positioning. One of the solutions is to educate consumers. In fact, the danger of counterfeit goods is an important and sensible point; consumers would react more easily if their health and lives were threatened - fake medicines or auto spare parts.
Don’t you think the duty-free paradise is unrealistic when counterfeiting is common place?</B>
We do have the means and resources to become a duty-free paradise; we must start by giving the right signals to famous trademarks to attract them; the objectives of this workshop were to sensitize operators on the need for adequate Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection on the one hand, and, on the other, convince the business community that it can reap tangible benefits from IPR management in modern trade (duty-free activities; licensing agreements; franchising etc.) I think that we have started the process…
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
