Join the fight against conterfeiting and piracy

INTRODUCTION / CALL TO ACTION

We are glad to introduce our initiative to all well meaning Nigerians and hereby call on corporate bodies. ngo's and individuals to Take Action- Take Responsibility- Get Involved in the Fight Against Counterfeiting And Piracy.

ACAPI was formed in 2005 by accident when a current member of the board of trustees was under attack from counterfeiters. He invited two others to discuss how he could legally resolve his problem at the time. The trio thus resolved to execute an elaborate consumer awareness campaign thereby educating the end users as well as potential dealers about the product, how to detect the fake and also where to purchase the genuine product. These few incentives worked very well and the trademark owner soon realized a steady rise in overall sales and turn over. Since then ACAPI has used this technique of information communication to help many IP owners plan better strategies for protecting their IP rights.

Counterfeiting and piracy are against the laws of Nigeria and ultimately cost the Nigerian economy up to N300 billion annually. While counterfeiters and fakers illegally enrich themselves, they impoverish our country and fellow citizens as their activities lead to mass unemployment, widespread poverty, and loss of revenue for manufacturers and government, social chaos and pose a great treat to health and safety.
From dvds and cds, shampoo and batteries to auto parts, drugs and home appliances, electrical products, almost every product sold in Nigeria today is a fake, counterfeit or knockoff of the original!!!.

The Facts

* Product adulteration and counterfeiting is a major problem dogging the Nigerian economy
* Product adulteration and counterfeiting has lead many manufacturers and service providers in Nigeria to close shop
* Product adulteration and counterfeiting has affected negatively the profit margins of genuine brands in Nigeria over the years
* Product adulteration and counterfeiting has reduced consumer loyalty and confidence in world famous brands
* Product adulteration and counterfeiting affects mostly popular brands that have gained national acceptance

The Solution

* Install measures to curtail the problem of product adulteration and counterfeiting
* Instill confidence in distributors and consumers of these brands

Our Objective
Our main objective is to eliminate the menace of counterfeiting and piracy in Nigeria and by extension the African continent. We want to ensure that African consumers have the choice of buying the genuine brands and that the brand reps actually sell these original (famous) brands and not the fakes.

Our Strategy
1. Consumer education
2. Advocacy
3. Strategic alliance
4. Public Private Partnerships
5. Civil enforcement

Our Platform
• Forums at local trade fairs
• Online databank of original brands in Africa–www.correctsources.com
• Media adverts via electronic and print
• Flyers, posters and handbills
• Special youth project at colleges and universities

About CorrectSources.Com
We understand consumer needs and create solutions that deliver satisfaction to the consumer. By doing this, we will deliver profits to the manufacturer and benefits to their stakeholders. Genuine brands use it because genuine consumers use it because genuine brands use it!

Our Vision
To becoming Africa’s most consumer-centric web portal

Our Mission
To empower the African consumer with the most up-to-date information to locate original products vendors

Our Business
Our business is not selling things; our business is to help consumers locate the original products vendors.

About Strategic Alliance
We invite all concerned Nigerians to join our initiative to fight against counterfeiting and piracy in Nigeria. We cannot win the fight alone but with the collective support of all well meaning Nigerians.

In Nigeria, we have the problem of balancing advocacy and enforcement. In fact Nigeria accounts for 70% of IPR violations in sub-Saharan Africa. There are laws against counterfeiting and piracy but no enforcement. The counterfeiters find it easy to bribe the agents at the ports or point of entry because there is really no structure to stop them. The agencies responsible for enforcement are themselves the chief protectors of these counterfeiters. Even if you provide funds to these agencies, the money might never be used to counter counterfeiters because the people at the head of affairs are mostly politicians and have no commitment towards fighting IPR violations. For any meaningful action against IPR violation, the people who suffer the most (brand owners & consumers) are the ones to be carried along.

Our Challenges
Currently funding this campaign has become a huge problem because of the shire size of IPR violations across the continent. Getting the government at the centre to commit more of their funds and resources towards equipping the enforcement agencies has also been difficult. Also not being able to monitor the ports of entry effectively has helped the counterfeiters in no small measure.

However our market monitoring and anti counterfeiting services has proven to be very effective for the few organisations that we have had the privilege to service.

We want to do more and improve on our service that’s why we believe that a partnership with all concerned Nigerians will affect greatly the fight against IPR violations in Africa in 2009 and beyond.

Thank you and have a counterfeit free Year.

Hanson Maduagwu
Coordinator,
Anti Counterfeiting And Piracy Initiative (ACAPI)
Ww23, 2nd floor, entrance 1,
Tafawa Balewa Square,
Onikan,
Lagos-Nigeria 23401
T: +2347092049186
M: +2347082912945
E: scap@correctsources.com
W: www.acapiafrica.org