Anti- Piracy Unit (APU) REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS 1

MAURITIUS 2

Republic of Mauritius 3

Official languagesEnglish VernacularMauritian CreoleMauritian Creole, French, EnglishFrenchEnglish Area Total 2,040 km sq mi 2,040 km 2sq mi Population 2009 estimate 1,288,000 The 3 mains pillars of the Mauritian economy Agriculture, Textile, and Tourism. Density 631.4/km 2 1,636.5/sq mi CurrencyMauritian rupeeMauritian rupee (Rs) 1 : Rs 40$1 USD : Rs 33 INFORMATION ABOUT MAURITIUS 4

"А counterfeit medicine is one which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging." 5

Purchasing from: Europe ASIA South Africa Sole Counterfeit seized : India 6

Our National Legislation The Copyright Act 1997.(Label or Design) The Protection Against Unfair Practice Act The Patents, Industrial Designs & Trademarks Act 2002.

The Copyright Act 1997 : Any person who commits an offence shall, (i) On a first conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 300,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years (ii) On a second subsequent offence be liable to a fine not exceeding 500,000 rupees and o imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years. 8

The PROTECTION AGAINST UNFAIR PRACTICES (INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS) Act 2002: Any person who contravenes section 4(1) shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of 250,000 rupees and to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years. The PATENT INDUSTRIAL DESIGN & TRADEMARKS Act 2002: (1) The performance of any act referred to in section 21,32 and 40 in Mauritius by any person other than the owner of the title of protection or the licensee and without the agreement of the owner, shall be unlawful. (2) Any person who knowingly performs any act in breach of section (1), shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 25,000 rupees and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years. 9

Common law Jurisdiction- Police only powers of arrest Custom Department Ministry of Health – Permanent Secretary or other designated officers Ministry of Commerce ( Industrial Property Office Registration of Marks) Mauritius Society of Authors (MASA) Stakeholders i.e Local agreement or legal representative of importer medical stuff. 10

SuspectedConfirmedImported / Domestic Vital Medicines 2008Nil 2007Nil 2006Nil 2005Nil 11

Number of cases Patients complaintsNil Health professionals reportsNil Enforcement / Investigation workNil Routine checksNil Reported by affected manufacturer / importer One in October 2009 Other 12

As at 2009 only 1 under Investigation 13

Training for Police officers : To be able to Identify genuine & counterfeit products Technical terms Duration & specification i.e. specific date including date of production to expiry date. Country of origins – products Knowledge of different labels. Modern trend- national Data Base Monitoring Committee – liaise with World Heath Organisation (WHO) Network – Sharing information with other International agencies 14

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