Cabinet approves Anti-Counterfeit Bill

Mar 18, 2013

The end of the road seems near for importers and promoters of counterfeit and substandard goods. This follows the passing by Cabinet of the Uganda Anti-Counterfeit Bill 2010.State minister for trade James Mutende last week said the Government had decided to pass the Bill to protect the local indust

By Patrick Jaramogi

The end of the road seems near for importers and promoters of counterfeit and substandard goods. This follows the passing by Cabinet of the Uganda Anti-Counterfeit Bill 2010.

State minister for trade James Mutende last week said the Government had decided to pass the Bill to protect the local industries.

“Our consumers need more protection now than even before. I am glad to announce that the Cabinet has approved the Anti-Counterfeit Bill 2010 and has forwarded it to Parliament for discussion and subsequent passing into law,” Mutende said.

Mutende was speaking during a national dialogue to commemorate the World Consumer Rights Day organised by the Uganda Consumer Action Network (U-CAN), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Uganda Communications Commission and the Uganda Industrial Research Institute.

The Bill, now before the parliamentary committee on trade, prohibits manufacture, trade and release of counterfeit products into the channels of commerce.

Mutende said the Government had put stringent measures such as heavy fines and tougher jail sentences for offenders.

“We are tired of making Uganda a dumping ground. We are saying that traders can make more money by importing and selling genuine products. They must change their ways or the new law will change them,” he said.

The Bill provides for a penalty which is 10 times the cost of the counterfeit product or a jail term of up to 20 years.

Once it comes into law, the Bill will boost the initiatives of UNBS that recently reinstated the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme to curb importation of substandard goods.

Mutende noted that the absence of a tough law had increased the number of substandard goods on the Ugandan market, hurting local manufacturers.

The bill will also blacklist companies engaged in the counterfeit trade, and there will be zero tolerance for the fraud.

Dan Nabutsabi, the U-CAN head, said traders would in the end benefit more if they stop dealing in counterfeits.

Fred Muwema, a lawyer on intellectual property rights, noted that lack of an adequate legal framework has made Uganda a dumping ground for substandard and fake goods.

“We need an appropriate legal framework to have an efficient consumer justice. The biggest challenge is the ignorance of the consumers. They don’t know their rights,” he noted.

“The other countries in East Africa have gone ahead of us. In Uganda, there is no legislation that deals with consumer protection.”

Kenya passed the Consumer Protection Act in 2012. Tanzania has the Competition Act 2003, while Rwanda has the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill.

Muwema pointed out that the lack of an effective regulatory framework also impedes effective consumer justice.

“Many Ugandans don’t know that if they take fake mineral water, they and their dependents are entitled to compensation,” he said.

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