Concern over counterfeit products

The Sri Lankan government this week expressed concerned over the proliferation of counterfeits and said there was an urgent need to stop or minimise the production and sale of these products in Sri Lanka.

Particular reference was made to bogus pharmaceuticals and motor spare parts, both of which are life threatening and pose a serious danger to the health and safety of consumers.

Consumer Affairs Minister H.R. Mithrapala said Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is a subject which influences and concerns all strata of human life and the government intends to be pro-active by implementing several programmes including a three year enforcement strategy from 2008 - 2010, working in conjunction with the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO).

Addressing a seminar on IPR organized by the European Chambers of Commerce in Sri Lanka (ECCSL), Mithrapala also said genuine products must be affordable or consumers will resort to purchasing counterfeit products.

European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julian Wilson, also addressed the seminar and said the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which is a requirement for all World Trade Organization (WTO) member nations of which Sri Lanka is a part of, is not being adhered to. Approximately 3 to 9% of world trade is counterfeit with 29% of all counterfeit products coming from China, resulting in a loss of 400 billion euros per year. The problem, Wilson said, is finding the source nation because products are being routed from various countries.

Counterfeit cigarettes is the primary IPR abuse facing the European Union but the range of products where IP abuses are taking place include designer and brand labels, car spare parts and even cereal boxes. Wilson said the number of seizures of counterfeit products is increasing by going beyond airports and into the ports. He added that wealth and future wealth for nations is dependent upon open trade and therefore, it is vital to educate consumers on product safety. Wilson described the IPR Act in Sri Lanka as 'sound' and 'meeting international standards' but that Sri Lanka underachieves because of the investment climate. Protecting IPR will serve to open up the country's potential.

US Ambassador Robert Blake, said protecting IPR promotes innovation, creativity and economic development. He said innovation has been the driver of the US economy and is a result of policies that safeguard innovators and investors. According to Blake, close to 15% of global trade is counterfeit and results in a loss of US$200 to US$250 billion each year as well as costing 750,000 US jobs per year, particularly in manufacturing, technology and biotechnology. He urged the Sri Lankan government to improve the implementation and enforcement of IPR.

What is IPR
IPR cover copyright and related rights, trademarks and domain names, geographical indications, patents, utility models and layout designs amongst others. It is also the exclusive rights over the use of a person's creation for a certain period of times.
Describing the patent system, Representative from the European Patent Office, Dr. Karl Rackette, said the basic idea underlying the system is that in exchange for a limited term, the inventor has the right to exclude others from making, using or selling an innovation in a particular country.

The patent applicant must provide according to the laws of that country, a complete and accurate public description of the invention and define in a set of valid claims the scope of protection requested.

This provides others with the ability to use that information to invent further, thus pushing technology forward for the benefit of society.

Rackette added that patents are available for any inventions, provided they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.

Exclusions from patentability are inventions against public order or morality, diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals and plants and animals other thanmicro-organisms.

Attorney at Law, Dr. Harsha Cabral said Sri Lanka, being a signatory to the TRIPS Agreement was obliged to amend its laws relating to IP on the guidelines set out by the agreement. Therefore, the IP Act No. 36 of 2003 is TRIPS compliant.

He said several important provisions of the law are seen in the IP Act which are exceptionally healthy to the development of IP Law in the country. He added that it is imperative that IP being 'private property' be protected by the right holder. (NG)