SAFACT (The South African Federation Against Copyright Counterfeiting and Theft) is to sue a computer games vendor for R500 000 following the seizure of 1 734 counterfeit PlayStation games amounting to a retail value of R600 000 in a recent raid at a shopping centre in Roodepoort.
This was confirmed by Fred Potgieter, MD of SAFACT, who said the defendant has 10 days to react to the summons.
The raid, which took place last month in the Horizon View shopping centre in Roodepoort, was the first conducted in conjunction with newly-appointed anti-counterfeit inspectors from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The appointment of inspectors by the DTI follows changes to the Counterfeit Goods Act, which has given authorities more legal clout in their ongoing battle against software pirates. This includes the establishment of official counterfeit depots, which allow for the safe and legal storage of confiscated counterfeit goods.
Potgieter said the bulk of the pirated CD-ROMs currently come from Thailand.
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