Brand, intellectual rights under spotlight at Indaba
BUSINESS management consultancy firm Sokoni Capital Private will host a symposium at the end of this month to discuss key issues around brand protection and intellectual property rights enforcement at Sango Conference Centre in Msasa, Harare.
Penciled for July 31, 2024, the symposium will run under the theme “Brand Protection and Intellectual Property Enforcement” and seeks to raise awareness of the strategic importance of brand protection and intellectual property rights to create a vibrant network of stakeholders working together to promote sustainable economic development.
It also aims to help open opportunities to offer brand protection consultancy services, including tracking and exposing the influx of counterfeit products into the local market.
Counterfeiting is now a widespread problem growing in scope and complexity across the world.
It has considerable economic and social impacts.
Despite legislation and efforts to curtail the proliferation of counterfeits, the products continue to flood the domestic market and other foreign jurisdictions.
Experts in various disciplines of brand and intellectual property protection, among them Mr Simbarashe Makahamadze, a partner at Palladium (Dubai)Intellectual Property, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe chief supply chain officer Ms Sharon Marufu, security specialist Mr Mahomed Khan, brand marketing specialist at the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) Ms Tariro Chivonivoni, intellectual property specialist and lecturer Mr Moses Nkomo, corporate and regulatory affairs specialist Mr Louis Kamau and security specialist Mr Laxman Moyo present insightful papers on the matter during the symposium.
According to Sokoni Capital, there is a growing need for strategic and operational brand protection and intellectual property rights enforcement in Zimbabwe.
“The event aims to stimulate interest in research, analytical studies, and publication of reports to guide policy and law formulation and to develop an understanding of the scale and magnitude of illicit trade problems,” said Sokoni Capital in the event’s concept note.
Illicit trade stifles innovation and negatively impacts countries’ and companies’ economic and financial interests, the company said.
According to the consultancy firm, companies across the world invest in brand, and intellectual property development to create competitive advantages.
The forthcoming event is targeting a wide spectrum of audiences including marketing, legal, security, and loss control, law enforcement and customs control personnel, academic and research personnel, industry associations, regulatory bodies, policymakers, and business executives.
Sokoni Capital will hold this event in collaboration with other stakeholders in partnership to develop and implement brand and intellectual property rights protection strategies.
The influx of smuggled counterfeit goods into Zimbabwe has been growing at an unrestrained rate in recent years.
According to the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), some of the counterfeits are being made in backyard industries in Zimbabwe while others are imported.
Such products include toothpaste, peanut butter, shoe polish, cooking oil, baked beans, relish mixes, non-alcoholic drinks, heat rubs, and cough syrups.-herald
