Nigeria: BATN, Others Seek End of Product Faking

The British America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) and other members of Anti-Counterfeiting Collaboration Body (ACC) have underscored the need to raise Nigerians' awareness on the dangers posed by fake and counterfeited products.

In its first awareness rally themed 'Walk the Talk' organised in Lagos, the Chairman of ACC, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola, said that it was necessary for trademark owners, law enforcement agencies associations like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to come together and fight the menace of counterfeiting.

"Suddenly we have all realised that industries are losing billions and some people will go and use some of these intellectual properties, somebody's trademark and make illegal money out of it," he stated.

He said the body was appealing to all the trademark owners to support ACC even as they plan to start a television programme called 'Light Finger' in the next two months.

He explained that Light Finger would be used to highlight the problem, and added that the programme would feature the Managing Directors of companies such as Guinness, Hennessey, record labels and other manufacturers to find out them the extent of damage suffered from counterfeiting.

"We are also going to ask the software companies the impact of fakes in their sector and in between we are going to have actors acting some scenes to create a more visual impact on the viewers," he said.

He said it was going to be a reality show and would be used to create awareness among consumers so that whenever they buy any product they would take some time to find out if the product was a fake or not.

He also said that most people don't care and that they even go for the cheap thing even if it tends not to be durable, and stressed that most people are even aware before buying the fake thing, because in Alaba Market they would show you a real BlackBerry and a fake one and then ask you to make a choice.

"It should be illegal to purchase fake goods, so if somebody says to you that he has a real and a fake version as well, then the consumer should call us and we will close that place down," he said.

He also noted that SON's successful raid on Alaba Market, Lagos was the kind of proactive measures that the country needs at this time, adding that people who engage in fake and counterfeit products should be taught a lesson.

"They cannot ride on the intellectual property or the trademark of someone who has worked so hard to establish a business, a record or a Nollywood movie and expect to go scot-free," he restated.

Omatshola revealed that the funding for this campaign would all come through donations from trademark owners, adding that ACC was not leaning on the government for financial support, noting that it was privately financed.

He explained that every member of the Association pays an annual fee and donations from partners are used to sponsor events such as the awareness rally and also pay bills.

"The organised private sector has received us well and it could even get better, everybody knows about the problem, but many of them have not yet understood that in unity lies power, if we are all united, even the government will take us more seriously," he stated.

He acknowledged that ACC has received tremendous support from SON, NAFDAC, MAN, Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC), noting that they are all part of ACC's continuous growth.

BATN is a member of ACC and has been so since its formation in 2006 and it is proud to be associated with such a body; as a brand owner it pays a lot of emphasis on protecting its brands.

Also speaking at the rally, one of the participants, BAT, speaking through its Area Head of Litigation and Intellectual Property, Mr. Sola Dosunmu, said that the company would continue to lend support to every organisation that has to do with informing the public and protecting the public from such paramount issues like fake and counterfeited products.

He said that fake and counterfeited products are dangerous, inimical to the development of our society and hurts brand owners.

"It deprives the government of revenue, it deprives the brand owners of revenue and also it undermines the fiscal policy of government and it promotes criminality. It is all about ensuring that we are protecting the consumers, to ensure that they buy the right products, products that are regulated by government and its agencies.

For us as a company we undertake a lot of awareness campaign apart from that, we have a lot of initiatives on our own like track and trace initiatives on our products. We try to protect our supply chain from end to end and ensure that our products are not diverted to illegal use. We also enter into memoranda with government agencies like the Customs, SON and the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council," he stated.

He said the company supports government agencies in terms of capacity building and also showing them how to detect fake or counterfeited products from the originals in order for them to be more effective in their enforcement roles and to see that people obey the law.

Also speaking at the rally, the Chairman of (PMAN) National Anti-Piracy Taskforce, Mr. Hariz Okeilo, noted that piracy was the greatest problem confronting musicians, other creative workers and the manufacturing industry.

"It is very unfortunate that despite the boom and mass usage of music in Nigeria, the musicians have nothing to show for it due to the activities of music pirates," he lamented.

He said that PMAN was anxious to cooperate in any scheme that would free its members from the hands of pirates and those who unlawfully use their works without permission.

He also said that just like terrorism is fought with billions of dollars, the war against piracy and counterfeiting requires proper funding, manpower, logistics and massive media awareness to stem the scourge.

Tee Mac said he was elected as the Chairman of ACC last year in absentia and he promised to commit his time to make the campaign against fake and counterfeited products a huge success, because it is also an issue that affects the music industry and Nollywood.