Former SACOB head appointed SA's new anti-piracy crusader

SAFACT has become increasingly concerned about the levels of counterfeiting in South Africa and last year launched a multimillion anti piracy advertising initiative in relation to DVD's and games, as part of its strategy to counteract this problem. But in order to be effective, SAFACT and its members have resolved that greater efforts are required at all levels of government, business and within the law enforcement agencies. The counterfeiting issue also transcends South African borders, and involves international business, foreign copyright owners, and extends its ramifications into organizations like World Intellectual Property Organization.

Lennox will bring his considerable experience to bear in all of these areas, in addition to taking charge of Safact's ongoing strategies and co-coordinating the day to day management of Safact's local initiatives.

His appointment also comes in the same week as the harshest sentence in SA legal history was handed down against a dealer in pirated DVDs and games - Marcus Mocke was convicted on 25 January in the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court in terms of the Counterfeit Goods Act and was sentenced to a fine of R400 000 or eight years in jail.

This followed a raid in March by the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Task Force in which 400 pirated DVDs and Playstation games were seized from Mocke. The court heard that Mocke was both distributing and trading pirated goods in flea markets, stores and on the street.

Lennox says, "I am hugely excited by the challenge and look forward to bringing new ideas, fresh initiatives and a wide range of business and organizational contacts to the table. I believe that the anti piracy fight can only be effective by ensuring the greatest co-operation between business, government and the international community at large." There is a huge amount of work to be done and I will be building upon the innumerable successes achieved by the current management and SAFACT members.

Paul Jenkins and Ferdi Gazendam, the co-chairmen of SAFACT concur: "We have no doubt that Mr Lennox will, in his new role, be able to co-ordinate a wider range of initiatives across the board to stem the piracy tide, not only in the entertainment and movie industry but for the greater good of organized business and South Africa as a whole. Our fight against copyright theft is unrelenting and... we have just stepped up a gear".

Fred Potgieter, the general manager of SAFACT, will retain his current position and will further be joined by Corne Guldenfennig, SAFACT and Ster-Kinekor's in-house legal counsel who will become a fulltime member of Safact's management team. This represents a formidable array of talent who will take SAFACT to the next level and indicates the entertainment industry's resolve to pursue pirates and organised crime involved in counterfeiting at every level.