WAR on Piracy- AG wants all hands on deck

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Counterfeiting, which is said to account for $512 billion of global trade annually, has been a major obstacle to the achievement of the development goals of many countries, including Ghana.
That substantial share of world trade is said to be most pronounced in pharmaceuticals, textiles, automobiles, household appliances, currencies and musical videos and it is responsible for between five and seven per cent of the global trade.
In the case of Ghana, which is severely hit by the phenomenon, making job creation exceedingly difficult, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, yesterday advocated the establishment of a separate Intellectual Property Office to fight piracy and counterfeit products in the country.
Furthermore, she recommended a crusade involving government agencies, the media and the private business sector to fight against all forms of counterfeiting in the country.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu disclosed this at a forum in Accra as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).
She expressed the hope that government agencies, such as the Ghana Police Service, the Copyright Office, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), the Registrar-General’s Department, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), would be brought under one umbrella to enforce intellectual property rights, particularly in the textile and pharmaceutical industries.
Speaking on the theme, “Consumer protection against illicit trade and counterfeit goods”, the minister said plans were underway to merge the Industrial Property Section of the Registrar-General’s Department and the Copyright Office to constitute a more effective Intellectual Property Office.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said the government would not relent in its efforts at ridding the country of counterfeit and illicit goods and called for the support of all Ghanaians.
She said in order to facilitate information flow, the government would assist CEPS and the police to set up a database on counterfeiting that would be linked to the World Customs Authority and Interpol.
Additionally, she said, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Copyright Office and the Registrar-General’s Department would work in conjunction with the Coalition Against Counterfeit and Illicit Trade (CACIT), an initiative of the GEA, to provide training programmes for the enforcement agencies.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said the government intended to propose an increase in fines and the terms of imprisonment for offenders to serve as a deterrent because the low fines and low terms of imprisonment as prescribed by the various statutes on intellectual property right were not deterrent enough.
The President of the GEA, Nana Fredua Agyeman Pambo I, said the theme for the occasion was informed by the negative and devastating impact of the phenomenon, which was harmful to the image and reputation of the country.
He said many industries, particularly the textile industry in Ghana and other West African countries, had collapsed due to counterfeiting, piracy and the infringement of property rights, mostly of imported products from Asia.
In 2004 alone, Nana Pambo said, the World Customs Organisation estimated the global trade in counterfeit products to be $512 billion and noted that counterfeit operators had created a global industry that now rivalled the multinational corporation in speed, reach and sophistication.
He also cited a report by the International Policy Network (IPN), which stated that about 700 people died annually from consuming fake drugs, most of which were said to have originated from China and India.
“The IPN estimates that almost 50 per cent of drugs sold in Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Burundi and the Congo are fake and substandard, leaving people to unknowingly consume paints, saw dust, cement, talcum powder and other toxic substances,” he added.
He, therefore, called for a national educational and awareness campaign to address the problem posed by counterfeit products, particularly pharmaceuticals.
Nana Pambo suggested that a special collaboration to combat counterfeit medicine could be initiated at the national and regional levels involving stakeholders from the public sector, the health sector, civil society groups, healthcare professionals, manufacturers, distributors and the media.
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibrahim Awal, who chaired the ceremony, said counterfeiting had serious implications on the country’s development agenda.
He, therefore, urged the media to team up with other stakeholders in fighting the menace, which he believed was badly affecting particularly the private sector.