US envoy: Wage war on fake goods, piracy jointly

BAK · 2010-03-12T01:08:35+00:00

US envoy: Wage war on fake goods, piracy jointly By The guardian reporter 11th March 2010 US Ambassador to Tanzania, Alfonso E. Lenhardt Fighting counterfeiting and piracy in an economy requires "a common concerted effort" by countries and regions and among global trading partners, the US Ambassador to Tanzania, Alfonso E. Lenhardt has said. The envoy made the remarks at a workshop on counterfeiting in Dar es Salaam yesterday, deliberating on ways to deal with the vice, affecting Tanzania, East Africa and other parts of the world. "Laws protecting intellectual property rights must be enforced," Ambassador Lenhardt said. "This is critical to ensuring trademark-related investments and business activities can thrive." The certainty provided by intellectual property rights protection is a key component in creating a strong business environment, and can stimulate domestic innovation and creativity in the economy, he said, adding that intellectual property rights protection helped create a more attractive environment for capital investment and for companies to engage in technology transfer. Unfortunately, counterfeit products continue to harm consumers in East Africa and around the world, the ambassador said. Fake medicines, cosmetics and many other types of illicit products can endanger public health and safety. Counterfeiting and piracy also cause job losses; reduction in the income of creators, inventors and legitimate traders; as well as the loss of critical government revenue. On people stealing Tanzanian music, the ambassador said "this is a great discouragement to Tanzanian musical talent. The shops and their customers share blame with the pirates themselves for stealing from these hardworking artists." Counterfeiters and pirates often engage in bribery and extortion thereby weakening legal frameworks and challenging democratic institutions. The workshop was organized by the US embassy in collaboration with local partners. Officials attending the workshop included the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Permanent Secretary Blandina Nyoni, acting Director General of the Tanzania Fair Competition Commission, Gregory Ndanu; and Director General of the Food and Drug Authority, Margret Sigonda. Others included officials of the Tanzania's Law enforcement agencies, U.S. Federal Judge Bernice Donald and Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Louis. SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Thread starter BAK
Start date Mar 12, 2010

BAK

JamiiForums uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.

Accept Learn more…

Back

Top Bottom

Forums

New posts

US envoy: Wage war on fake goods, piracy jointly

BAK

JF-Expert Member

Our Community

Regional Communities