Sikyor Africa canvasses safeguarding of brands

The Founder and Group Evangelist of Marq Sikyor Africa, Mr. Joko Okupe, has stressed the need for firms to protect their brands against counterfeiting and other infringement.

In a chat with the media recently, he said in 2019, the global economy lost $1.77 trillion to counterfeiting and other infringement crimes.

In Africa, by 2025, it is estimated that businesses would lose about $2.4billion to counterfeiting, Okupe said.

He added the fight against all forms of infringement is an effort to protect brand assets and intellectual property in the country.

Marq Sikyor African boss noted that online shopping has become an attractive distribution channel for counterfeit goods, which find the low-risk online environment quite appealing.

According to him, “Currently, we are in a globalised world where a brand building has become a strong fundamental for business institutions and governments — as it propels business and countries’ economic growth.”

Brands, he explained, contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and support consumers’ livelihood and well-being. He added that brands with strong recognition and global outreach are great assets to their countries. Hence such brands, he suggested, deserve to be protected.

In today’s world where all boundaries and frontiers are broken, he said brands cross geographic and cultural borders in trade relationships involving exports for the purpose of earning foreign exchange and even in organising cultural events anchored on brand sponsorship.

Conclusively, he advocated collaboration between brand owners, custodians and other stakeholders to secure and safeguard Nigerian brands.

He said his outfit has a rich team with an in-depth understanding of the market terrain and a good grasp of the workings of law enforcement and regulatory agencies. He noted that the brand protection investigations cover anti-counterfeiting, anti-piracy, parallel imports, product diversification, trademark infringement and product tampering/ adulteration.