Resources

How To Spot Fakes

Be on the lookout for...

If you suspect you have located a fake product, please report a case.

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Dealing with counterfeits - the Ghana experience E. K. Agyarko CEO, Food and Drugs Board Ghana. Download

Conference on West African Sub-regional and Inter-agency Collaboration in the Fight Against Counterfeit and Pirated Products Download

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Tips and Advice

Consumers
Counterfeiting is not inevitability. The primary means of fighting this trade is sensitizing all consumers to show a sense of responsibility and show vigilance. The fight against counterfeiting engages our ethical values and calls for good citizenship.

When you encounter a counterfeit product;

1. Purchase the product
2. Discreetly seek information from the seller on the supplier of the product and take down the details
3. The sample and the purchase receipt as well as the other relevant documents should be sent to FDB, CACCIT or the manufacturer of the product.

Manufacturers
Before any company can do anything about its counterfeiting problem, it needs to;

• Have an understanding of what the problem is and who is causing it. 
• Build a strategic overview of the groups that are involved in counterfeiting its brand, so that any action taken is targeted enforcement rather than reaction to an isolated incident.
• Have its own IP protection in place.
• Educate consumers on product differentiation using key features that are difficult to copy.
• Use legal options where necessary in the form of civil or criminal action, educating Customs Officers, administrative measures as well as collaboration with other brand owners to combat the menace.

Source - INTA 2007 Counterfeiting Report

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CACIT Ghana Information Clearinghouse

Main Intellectual Property Laws and Regulations of Ghana:

1. Trade Marks Act 2004, (Act 664)
2. Industrial Designs Act, 2003 (Act 660)
3. Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690)
4. Patents Act 2003 (Act 657)
5. Geographical Indications Act, 2003 (Act 659)
6. Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits Act 2004 (Act 667)
7. High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47)
8. Criminal Code, 1960 Act 29
9. Food and Drugs Board (FDB) Act 1992 as amended
10. Standards Board Decree 1973, NRCD 173
11. Customs Excise and Preventive Services (Management Act) 1993, (PNDCL 330)
12. Protection Against Unfair Competition Act, 2000 (Act 589)

Model Intellectual Property Legislation
2008 Survey and Socio-economic Impact Assessment Report of Counterfeiting and Piracy in Ghana
Resource Compendium of Intellectual Property Institutions and Legislation
Suggested Roadmap for the Crusade Against Counterfeiting and Piracy in Ghana

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Anti-counterfeiting and Anti-piracy Web-links

Partner Institutions in Ghana:

	The Institute of Packaging Ghana
	The Ghana Employers Association
	The Association of Ghanaian Industries
	The University of Ghana
	The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce
	The Consumers’ Association of Ghana
	The Ghana Standards Board
	The Food and Drugs Board
	The Attorney General’s Department
	The Registrar General’s Department
	The Customs Excise and Preventative Service
	The Internal Revenue Service
	The Ministry of Trade
	The Ghana Police Service
	mPedigree
	The Copyright Office of Ghana at copyrigt@ghana.com

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International Anti-counterfeiting and Anti-piracy Agencies and Bodies:

• World Intellectual Property Organization
• World Customs Organization
• World Health Organization IMPACT
• Interpol Intellectual Property Rights Working Group
• U.S. Government Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy and Counterfeiting (STOP).
• The British National Intellectual Property Crime Group.
• The Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP)
• The International Trademark Association.
• The Anti-counterfeiting Group (ACG).
• The Global Anti-counterfeiting Network (GACG).
• The International Trademark Association (INTA).
• The European Brands Association (AIM).
• The [China] Quality Brands Protection Committee.
• WIPO Awareness and Outreach.