OVERVIEW OF THE
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING
COLLABORATION (‘ACC’),
NIGERIA
Uche Nwokocha
Aluko & Oyebode, Lagos
INTRODUCTION
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ACC formed during October 2006 as an initiative
by Aluko & Oyebode to bring brand owners,
enforcement agencies and interested parties
together to help fight rampant counterfeiting,
infringement and piracy in Nigeria
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ACC is a non-political, non-governmental, nonprofit making coalition
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ACC is a member of the Global AntiCounterfeiting Group (‘GACG’)
MEMBERS / ATTENDEES
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Membership open to all interested parties,
including brand owners, government agencies,
law enforcement agencies and IP attorneys in
Nigeria
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Persons involved in counterfeiting activities,
infringement or piracy in any form or manner
whatsoever will not be allowed to join the ACC
ACC MEMBERS
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Aluko & Oyebode
Benchmac & Ince
Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd
Drum-Cussac Nig. Ltd
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Nigeria Limited
Jackson, Etti & Edu
KFC - Devyani International (Nigeria) Limited
Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte
Nigerchin Electrial Development Company Limited
Nokia Nigeria, West Africa Limited
Nollywood Business Frontiers/ FIPO
O. Kayode & Co.
Sproxil
Standards Organisation of Nigeria
ACC ATTENDEES
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ABFR & Co.
ACC Associates;
Accent Office Solutions Limited
Adobe
Aelex
Allan & Ogunkeye
Associated Attorneys
British America Tobacco (Nigeria) Plc
CFAO Nigeria Plc/ NIPEN
ACC ATTENDEES cont.
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Far-East Mercantile
Frankcom Ltd.
George Ikoli & Okagbue
Guiness Nigeria PLC
Hewlett Packard
IFPI & MPA
IP Dynamic Consult
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
Microsoft
ACC ATTENDEES cont.
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Multichoice Nigeria Ltd
National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
Nigerian Copyright Commission
Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company
Nipen
Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI)
PMAN/FAME Corp/Jazz Club of Nigeria
Procter & Gamble
Stillwaters Law Firm
ACC ATTENDEES cont.
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Templars
Toyota Nigeria Ltd
UAC Franchising
Uche Nwokedi & Co.
Unilever Nigeria Plc
WAPCO Plc
etc
OBJECTIVES OF THE ACC
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Create Awareness
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Disseminate knowledge and information about
counterfeiting, infringement & piracy
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Facilitate introduction of effective measures
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Encourage brand owners to enter into joint
initiatives
WAYS & MEANS OF ACTION
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Organising meetings, seminars, conferences
and courses to foster cooperation and exchange
of knowledge, information and international best
practices
Co-operation with other national groups with
similar aims
Regular interaction with Government agencies
involved with anti-counterfeiting
Liaising with INTA especially in the area of
International Treaties affecting IPRs - ACTA
(Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)
WAYS & MEANS OF ACTION Cont.
ACTA focuses on 3 main areas:
1. International Cooperation including
capacity building;
2. Enforcement practices including public
private advisory groups, expertise within
Law enforcement to ensure effective
handling of IPR cases; and
3. Legal framework including criminal
enforcement and border measures.
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NIGERIA SUCCESS STORIES
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National Agency for Food and Drug Administration
and Control (NAFDAC)
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(There is presently a Draft Bill before the National Assembly which seeks
among other things to make the offence of Drug counterfeiting non-bailable,
to impose Life Jail term on convicted fake drug offenders & introduce
compensatory system whereby assets of convicted counterfeit drug
offenders are sold and proceeds used to compensate victims of fake drugs.
NAFDAC has also introduced modern technology to keep ahead of the
counterfeiters e.g. Truscan technology, the Mobile Authentication Service
(MAS), text messaging technology and also the Radio Frequency
Identification (REID) system for verification of regulated products and
documents)
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Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC)
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) – SONCAP
initiatives
Consumer Protection Council (CPC)
Nigeria Trademark Registry, Ministry of Commerce
DIFFICULTIES IN NIGERIA
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Importation of counterfeit goods from Asian
countries. Nigeria is a ‘dumping ground’ and a
gateway into the rest of Africa
Phenomenon of parallel market that exists in
Nigeria where fake goods and original goods are
sold side-by-side by the same vendors
Denied revenue through non payment of tax
could buy infrastructure
Danger to consumer as a result of fake drugs
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Loss of revenue/profit could lead to job loss
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CONCLUSION
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Join the move today and declare:
I don’t fake!