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| Sunday, 6 March 2005 |
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Lack of awareness in IP law deplored Intellectual Property (IP) is about creativity and the law on IP is misused due to lack of awareness among the public said Dr. Harsha Cabral. He was addressing a seminar on Countering counterfeiting of branded products organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He said that Sri Lanka is a haven for copying and held up copies of originals and fakes to show the extent to which it had spread. All counterfeit products infiltrate remote areas and within 6-12 months they come to the cities. When the copyright holder discovers the counterfeiting lawyers argue that the product has been in the market for sometime. He said that there are even fake electrical switches and car filters and these could pose threats in the long run to houses, buildings and cars and the damage can run into millions of rupees. Assistant Director ICC Counterfeiting, Intelligence Bureau Peter Lowe said:" This is an industrial plague which has deep roots in the past and is described as the greatest ongoing theft in the world today. Over the last fifty years it has grown to unimaginable proportions and spread throughout the developing and industrialised economies. In its most virulent form counterfeiting threatens trade wars between countries, civilian deaths, increased levels of organised crime and corporate destruction. It feeds on innovation, goodwill and enterprise and destroys products, profits, jobs, companies and even lives. Today counterfeiting affects a huge spectrum of different products including software, currency and credit cards, audio tapes and CDs, aircraft and engineering spares, wines and spirits, perfumes and the list is endless and ever growing. Some of the more exotic products that have been counterfeited in the past include Ferrari cars, satellite decoders, super glue, zips, truffles, rubbish bags, security holograms, computer chips and tea bags. The clandestine nature of counterfeiting makes it difficult to identify or quantify but it is a profitable business as one counterfeiter said "Counterfeiting is more profitable than selling narcotics and without risks." The future reality is that there will be no reduction in counterfeiting while it will not be possible to stop it. Superintendent of Police Criminal Investigation Department A. R. Waidyalankara said:" The majority of the masses are quite conversant with their own personal rights and property rights but not the creations and inventions of the human brain which are being inherited with the knowledge based on traditional violations against the human body and property. In certain areas it is difficult to carry out investigations including instances where the violators advertise counterfeit products over the Web. The attention of the law makers is greatly needed to overcome this type of situations. "In my personal view no limitations or stipulated periods should be given in respect of this type of offences to be implemented at the level of zero tolerance. The practical difficulties of law enforcement agencies should also be looked into in respect of filing plaints against violators," Waidyalankara said. Chairman ICC Mahendra Amarasuriya said that the seminar was the first of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka. The US economy lost US$ 13.4 billion last year due to this while India is famous for cutting across branded products. The booming Chinese economy thrives on counterfeiting, Amarasuriya said. |
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