Port Elizabeth - With little more than three years to go before the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa the country has already become a target for sales of counterfeit articles carrying the tournament logo.
According to the police 19 500 pairs of sunglasses with the 2010 logo have already been confiscated in the Port Elizabeth harbour by Thursday.
The value of the sunglasses is estimated at R6m, according to Supt Johann van Greunen, police spokesperson.
In a recent report on counterfeit products, South Africa is 16th on a list of 20 top nations where transgressions of intellectual property laws are reported.
In 2005 alone copyright owners worldwide suffered losses of more than $15bn (about R110bn).
"Counterfeit goods and pirate copies can cause irrepealable damage to copyright owners' income and their trade mark," said Paul Ramara, an attorney at Spoor & Fisher, a Pretoria law firm specialising in patent, trade mark and copyright.
Ramara said it was especially foreigners buying the fake goods in Dubai and China.
Spoor & Fisher represents trade marks such as Puma, Adidas, Diesel and Hugo Boss.
According to Ramara international research has shown that sales of counterfeit goods entail approximately 5% to 7% of world trade.
In South Africa, the demise of the textile industry which left thousands without jobs, had shown the impact fake goods could have on an economy. The country gets a bad image if it is seen as a dumping ground for fake goods, said Ramara.
He said the police, customs and the department of trade and industry are working together to stem the tide.
