Counterfeiting Projected to Drain $4.2tn Globally

The Anti Counterfeit Collaboration (ACC) Nigeria has said counterfeiting is projected to drain $4.2trillion from global economy.

The organisation made this known at a press conference to mark the World Anti Counterfeit Day held in Lagos recently.

The Chairman, ACC Nigeria, Mr. Desmond Adeola, during the annual event said the plague will also put over 4.5 million legitimate jobs at risk by the year 2022.

“It also revealed that Nigeria is one of those countries increasingly becoming a target destination and significant transit route for counterfeit and pirated products,” he said.

He also explained that the consequence is the Nigerian economy is at risk if proper measures are not taken on time as trade in counterfeit creates an underground economy that would deprive government of revenue income. Adeola maintained that these problems could force higher burdens on tax payers, bring unemployment, expose consumers to danger and damage the equity and consumer confidence in the legitimate brands being counterfeited. He, however, pointed out that effective policy for intellectual right protection including anticounterfeiting measures were strongly required to achieve a better ranking towards ease of doing business in the country. “ACC today lends his voice to that of our other partners in calling for closer government attention and improved support towards combating the menace of counterfeiting,” he said.

On the way forward, Adeola said there should be room for speedy drive towards legal reforms and strengthening of the legal framework since the current laws has virtually no deterrence value and offers little as a barrier against counterfeiting. “We use this opportunity to call for improved training, capacity building and inter agency cooperation. ACC will continue to drive advocacy and promote awareness and we call on the ever vibrant Nigerian press to help champion the awareness drive,” he said.

The ACC Nigeria is a nonpolitical, non-governmental, non-profit making coalition, which was conceived in October 2006 with the aim of bringing brand owners, enforcement agencies and interested parties together, to form an effective ‘opposition party’ against counterfeiters, infringers and pirates in Nigeria.