Counterfeit Goods Threaten South Africa

South Africa needs to stand up and fight the problem of counterfeit goods as it has the potential to destroy the economy and lead to unemployment in the country, Paul Ramara, a partner at Spoor & Fisher has warned, IOL reported. Ramara said, the counterfeit goods were no longer limited to one industry such as the clothing industry, but it has now spread to include a number of sectors. Counterfeiting was once viewed by many as a problem limited to purveyors of high-end luxury goods, but today counterfeiting has become a multi-billion dollar criminal activity that affects almost every industry. “Any recognizable brand is at risk of being counterfeited, from clothing, music to pharmaceuticals and even automotive parts. In automotive, there are no parts that are immune, as counterfeited parts tend to be the most frequently replaced parts like brake pads, spark plugs and bearings,” he said. The industry estimates that thousands of counterfeit auto parts flow into the country every year. Only a fraction of them are ever detected by customs and even less now in the age of e-commerce.