NAIROBI, Kenya—The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) now says it is embracing alternative dispute resolution and conducting compounding of offences to hasten the elimination of counterfeits from the market.
In an exclusive interview with Y News, Yussuf Osman Ahmed, the Director of the Authority’s Enforcement Directorate, disclosed that the body implemented the process in 2023 and has since concluded 300 cases.
“The Authority, since inception, seized counterfeit goods worth Sh 8 billion and filed 400 cases in court with a success rate of conviction of 70 pc. Among success in conviction are motor cycle tube distributors imprisoned for three years,” said Osman.
What are the most prevalent counterfeited goods in Kenya
Kenya’s most prevalent counterfeited goods are footwear and apparel, followed by electrical and electronic products.
“ACA wishes to advise the public to collaborate and coordinate by reporting to the Authority any suspicious activity and conduct due diligence in the purchase of the goods by checking on the price, place of purchase, and packaging to ensure they don’t fall to the counterfeiter’s trap.”
Meanwhile, Y News has gathered that the Authority is at the forefront in combating counterfeiting by using technology and thus implementing recordation as a tool to protect Intellectual property rights owners’ products from infiltrating the market by allowing them to record their rights and ensure the entry of the products by scrupulous traders to infringe on their products.
Why ACA launched the Intellectual Property Rights Recordation platform
In June 2022, ACA launched an Intellectual Property Rights recordation platform allowing manufacturers to enter data on the intellectual property of particular goods detailing their characteristics, including high-resolution pictures of the goods.
The platform, which had been live for several months before its launch, already had hundreds of manufacturers registered.
According to ACA, this will enable law enforcement agencies to compare the goods with those captured in the system and flag off any counterfeit goods before they enter the country.
According to the Authority, 80 pc of illicit goods in the country are imported, highlighting the need to control their influx from entry points.
In a Baseline Survey on Counterfeit and Other Forms of Illicit Trade in Kenya, the total size of illicit trade was estimated at Sh 826 billion in 2018, having risen from Sh 726 billion in 2017, translating to 8.9 pc and 9.3 pc of GDP, respectively.
